Free Wheelchair Mission hosts Miracle of Mobility event

Ron Johnson, a member of Mercer Island’s Encounter Church, has seen the tears and celebrations firsthand when he and other volunteers deliver wheelchairs to those in need and their caregivers.

On a mission trip to the Dominican Republic earlier this year, the volunteers distributed about 70 chairs manufactured by Southern California’s Free Wheelchair Mission.

“It’s a great cause,” said Johnson, adding that he experiences emotional and satisfying moments when he helps solve world problems on the missions. “Getting a wheelchair feels like a miracle for them.”

Members from Encounter Church will be playing vital volunteer roles at an upcoming local Free Wheelchair Mission event. The mission will be hosting another Seattle Miracle of Mobility free gathering from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11 at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center.

According to a press release: “The goal of the event is to help provide 2,100 wheelchairs to people in need, restoring not only movement, but independence and opportunity. Attendees will hear personal stories, enjoy a community dinner, and be part of a mission that has already transformed over 1.5 million lives globally.”

At last year’s Mercer Island event, they raised $175,000, and this year they’re hoping to haul in $200,000, according to Johnson, a Bellevue resident who has been the volunteer event coordinator for the past nine years. Over the past 20 years worth of events on the Island, they’ve raised more than $2 million and funded more than 20,000 wheelchairs.

Former Seahawks quarterback and NFL coach Jim Zorn speaks at last year’s event. Courtesy of Free Wheelchair Mission

Free Wheelchair Mission CEO Nuka Hart will be one of the speakers at the event. Hart will discuss the need for mobility worldwide and share a powerful story about a young man from Ethiopia who received one of their chairs and gained independence. Currently, the faith-based nonprofit mission — founded by Don and Laurie Schoendorfer — serves 35 countries and has touched 95 since its inception in 2001.

Regarding the Island event, Hart said: “We’ve been really fortunate to have a pretty strong community of supporters, volunteers, donors, people that are just really passionate about what we do.” She noted that this event is a smaller version of the huge Miracle of Mobility event that the mission holds annually in the Orange County area of California.

Former Seahawks quarterback and NFL coach Jim Zorn has also attended missions, and has emceed and spoken at Free Wheelchair Mission events on the Island.

“We also draw people in the community that are leaders and can also endorse the work that we’re doing,” Hart added.

On the local front, Johnson said the church — which was previously named Evergreen Covenant Church and Mercer Island Covenant Church — held its initial Free Wheelchair Mission fundraising dinner in 2005, when George Duff and then-Pastor Greg Asimakoupoulos learned about the mission and gave it full support.

Hart will announce the mission’s launch of its brand new Gen 4 Joy wheelchair at the event.

“Our wheelchairs are uniquely designed for the developing world, so they have these really rugged tires and a design that’s specifically intended to last in the developing world,” she said. “We want to not just show that we have a new one in the sequence, but to show that our wheelchair really does give people joy when they get it.”

Free Wheelchair Mission’s goal this financial year is to ship about 130 containers of unassembled chairs — about 500 in each container — to recipients across the globe, Hart said.

Upon receiving their wheelchairs, Hart said: “It doesn’t end there. You give them the wheelchair, but it’s an opportunity, it’s a door that’s opening for that individual to then be part of their community, part of just being able to go outside and talk to people and not be shuttered inside, not feel marginalized and forgotten. Or even better, be able to go to school, be able to go to work, be independent, bring some sort of social or economic stability to the family or to themselves.”

People can RSVP for the event by Oct. 9 at www.SeattleMobility.org.