jingle of bells
There are a lot of different kinds of freedoms. What's new Kenny? Just busy, busy, busy. But one most people take for granted is freedom of movement.
jingle of bells
Good morning Jim. Morning. For some, just getting out of the house to visit friends can be an impossible task. Which is why twice a week, a group of retired veterans shows up at the Mobility 4 Vets Wheelchair Shop in Waupaca. Everything you see in this building is a donation.
squeaks with pumping
rattling
Oh yeah. They'll spend the next few hours fixing up donated wheelchairs and scooters.
mechanical whirrr
It should be ready to fly now. Just some veterans helping restore a little freedom of movement.
whirrr
We take the equipment. We refurbish it and get it back into working shape. Put a very reasonable asking price on it and make people happy. Ken Tourville is president of this nonprofit and says donated goods, volunteers and free rent allow them to make mobility affordable.
metallic clunk
They look fairly new too. A lot of people don't realize how much some of this mobile equipment goes. Some of those chairs run up into $20, $25, $30,000 range. Most of the chairs were purchased through Medicare or the VA but they don't take returns. I got a call from a lady. She said it belonged to her father. He just passed away. She said, "I don't even know if he used it. If he did, once or twice, maybe." It's a $20,000 electric wheelchair. Mobility 4 Vets will list it for $800 but they understand even that price could be too expensive. So the right price could be nothing more than a handshake. I don't know how to thank you so thank you. You're welcome, sweetheart. So our prices run anywhere from zero up to whatever you can afford. We put a very, very reasonable price on things. Whatever they can't fix, they break down for parts. Years ago, the group worked out of a wheelchair repair shop at the Wisconsin Veteran's Home at King, just down the road. Five of us were volunteers there for quite a while. They ended up closing the shop. We talked about it and said, "Do we really want to open another shop?" Our youngest guy at that time was like 73. We decided it's really worthwhile what we're doing there and helping people. Despite the name, Mobility 4 Vets provides help for anyone. So we really have a warm spot in our heart for veterans but we try to help everybody. That's for donuts and coffee for you folks. Holy cripes. That's a donation, call it. All right. Fantastic. The social aspect can be just as important for their customers. Immobility can be isolating. That's a dandy right there. We understand what their needs are. Yeah, sometimes we just shoot the bull. Ken can relate because he uses a chair as well. I had a bad accident. I got a whole new respect for stairs, for ramps, for accessibility. Ken understands how easy it is to lose mobility and therefore how important their service really is. And it's that history of service that ties this group together. Like the old saying, band of brothers. Veterans just kind of bond to one another.
laughter
They have a very special bond. The only thing I can do is take it for a test drive. If I can help a veteran that makes my day.
mechanical ratcheting
Ok, it works.
whirrrr
Ken tells a story that sums up what they do. A disabled veteran was poor, but too proud to take a scooter for free. So I said to him, I said, "John, how much money do you have?" Real proud he says, "I got $120." "We'll sell you that for $120." The guy was just totally elated. He was so happy. About three days later, I called him. He lives in Oshkosh. And I said, "How's it going, John?" "Ken, yesterday," he said, "I went to Walgreens." He'd never been to Walgreens, like two blocks from his house. He said, "Tomorrow I'm going to the grocery store." That's why we do it. He was so happy. How do you replicate that kind of satisfaction in what you're doing? It just made us feel good.
Group
Yeah! Now we feel better. That's why I do it.
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