Lives Transformed Because of You

December 2020

Thanks to your generosity during December’s “Season of Giving,” 24,783 wheelchairs will be provided to individuals living with disabilities in developing countries—surpassing our goal of 19,000 wheelchairs! Thank you for celebrating the spirit of the holidays with us in this special way.

Women’s Holiday Event

December 3

In lieu of an in-person holiday event, the OC Women’s Council for Mobility hosted a virtual event this year, creating beautiful centerpieces together via Zoom. Thanks to their efforts and the generosity of all involved, they raised funds to provide 171 wheelchairs, surpassing their goal of 150!

Featured Story: Gift

December 4

A little girl named Gift was born with no hands or feet. When she was still a toddler, her parents took her and fled from their home in South Sudan due to violent conflict and deteriorating conditions. They eventually made their way to a refugee camp in Uganda.

Read more of her story here.

Wheelchairs Arrive in Our 94th Country

December 14

Because of your generosity, nine containers of wheelchairs arrived in Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Jordan, Pakistan, and Vietnam—and, a container arrival in Yemen makes it the 94th country served by Free Wheelchair Mission!

A Generous Gift from loanDepot

December 14

Free Wheelchair Mission was selected to receive a $100,000 donation from loanDepot, the nation’s second-largest retail nonbank lender. The generous donation will provide 1,250 wheelchairs to individuals living with disabilities in developing countries around the world.

Read more in this press release.

New Activity in Chile

December 15

Help for the Andes, a distribution partner in Chile, distributed their first wheelchairs from Free Wheelchair Mission. These wheelchairs will be used to transport patients at two local hospitals.

Continuing Our Work in Thailand

December 18

After a two-year hiatus, wheelchair distributions in Thailand will resume under a new partnership with the RICD Wheelchair Project, which “strives to provide mobility aids and other medical equipment to the people of Thailand, raise awareness regarding the needs of those with disabilities, and empower and encourage the disadvantaged to become fully integrated into their communities.” We are excited about this new partnership!