Wine for Wheelchairs

Home

*The World Health Organization estimates that 150 million (equivalent to one half of the U.S. population) children, teens and adults worldwide are in need of a wheelchair but cannot afford one. In many developing countries, the only way for a person with physical disabilities to be mobile is to crawl along the ground or be carried by family or friends. An all-too-common reality is that many people stay in bed or in the corner of a room for years at a time.

California's most recognized winemakers have teamed up with Lookout Ridge Winery and The Wheel Chair Foundation to use their winemaking skills to donate wheelchairs for needy individuals. Over 150 million* individuals worldwide are in need of a wheelchair but cannot afford one. You have the ability to immediately change somebody's life by giving them wheelchair.
 
boy in wheelchair, Santa Cruz, Bolivia click a photo to read a story
boy in wheelchair, Baja, Mexico girl in wheelchair, Honda, Colombia
 

Santa Cruz, Bolivia: A young boy whose leg has just been surgically removed is selected to receive a chair from The Wheelchair Foundation. Carried downstairs and set in his new wheelchair, he is elated at his newfound freedom.
 
Without the donated wheelchair the boy would have been confined to the third floor of the hospital where approximately 50 other patients, most of them children, are living. Some are missing limbs, some simply can not use the legs they have. Lacking wheelchairs and lacking a functioning elevator they are forced to spend most of their days lying in bed.

Baja, Mexico: a typical town with a plaza in the center. A boy sits in his new wheelchair for the first time, his expression changing from sad resignation to a broad smile. He takes the chair around the plaza for a spin, his self-confidence growing as he wheels around. This wheelchair, a seemingly small contribution, provides him mobility, and makes a huge difference in his life.
 
His father had brought him to receive his donated wheelchair, pushing him through the streets in a wheelbarrow.

Honda, Colombia: Marinela Londoño is 13 years old and she can now go to school and hang out with her friends. She says she "looks at life with different expectations". Marinela enjoys her "legs" but also has her wheels to rest and to move when she can not use her prosthesis.
 
Marinela was born with a congenital illness causing deformation of her limbs. A Pediatrician cut off her legs as soon as she was born. She had been living in very poor conditions until a family friend connected her to a Wheelchair Foundation partner in Medellin, Colombia.