Over the last couple of years, SeniorHealth has been proud to sponsor and lead other local companies and individuals in reaching out to others in the area.
View the Judy Head - Extreme Home Makeover the Ramp it Up! videos. Links at the bottom of this page.
Extreme Home Makeover
Judy Head is a Newport News resident who is truly a credit to her community. She is well known, active in civic organizations, and an amputee counselor who is constantly giving to others. For example, she recently gave a wheelchair to a neighbor who desperately needed it. This good deed would be noteworthy for anyone, but for Judy it was phenomenal. Judy is an active 56-year-old bilateral, above the knee, amputee who gave away her personal wheelchair. Judy is highly involved in community organizations and, on top of all that, she is the caregiver for her 80-year-old father.
A team of local professionals and businesses will be giving Judy's home an "extreme makeover." Their goal is to make her bathroom, kitchen cabinets and appliances wheelchair accessible.
Ramp it Up!
"Last year's project was so successful," comments Steve Zollos, Chairman of the Successful Aging Board of Directors, "that we wanted to keep the ball rolling. The goal of this year's project was to build a ramp for every major city of Hampton Roads before the Successful Aging Forum on April 7, 2006."
You may wonder how the recipients were chosen. The ENDependence Center of Norfolk, local Housing Authorities, and Catholic Charities submitted candidates for the ramps. Selection of candidates was based on mobility limitations and financial need.
Teams of 7 workers for each ramp were formed and our general contractor, Access 1st, Inc., was on-site to help provide the ramp building expertise. We had teams from Bon Secours Maryview, DePaul and Mary Immaculate hospitals as well as Bon Secours Chaplains, Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital employees, the Christian Motorcycle Association and the crew of the USS Carl Vinson.
"It's not always easy to see how a ramp can literally change a person's life," said Joanne Merinar of Bon Secours Senior Health. "Imagine not being able to get out of your own home to go for a walk, or in case of a fire. Everyone was so thankful and it was a real privilege to be part of this great program."
Each ramp costs approximately $2,000 and funds for this project were raised from generous donations by Bon Secours employees, Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital, Access 1st, DePaul Behavioral Health, The Contractor's Yard, The City of Hampton, Sears Group, Inc., The Norfolk Task Force on Aging, Province Place of Maryview and Province Place of DePaul.
As you can imagine there was plenty of hugs and tears shed by the recipients of the ramps as well as by all who lent a helping hand! Thanks to everyone who participated.
