Spring “Specials” Offer Savings on 30+ Accessible Minivans
The Dodge Grand Caravan is our most popular wheelchair accessible conversion.
Check Out Our Van Specials Page for Super Deals on Wheelchair Vans for Sale
It’s that time of year when people start to bring out their patio furniture, lawn mowers, garden hoses, and my favorite… the barbeque grill! Just as homeowners like to clean out the garage at spring time, so do auto dealers with plenty of used inventory on their lots. They need to move them quickly in order to make room for brand new vans coming in for the busy summer season. Mobility van dealers like MobilityWorks face the same challenge when trying to decide on how many vans to order, which makes and models, and what type of conversions our customers will need. Mobility dealers need to have several options available in order to meet the individual needs of each client – and to match their ramp and color preferences. Yes, color does matter!
Visit our Van Specials page to find reduced price deals on 35 different used wheelchair vans, including: minivans with folding and in-floor ramps, full-size vans with lifts, and even an accessible pickup truck!
White Still Leads as the Auto Industry’s Most Popular Color
Did you know that white was the most popular color selection worldwide for a new car in 2011 and in 2012? According to PPG, the world’s largest supplier of automotive paint products, 22% of buyers selected white for their new vehicle purchase, closely followed by silver at 20% and then black at 19%. Looking at just the United States and Canadian markets, the results were very similar, with white also leading the color face-off with 21% of all new car sales.
We’ve Got Your Color!
In a survey that PPG conducted in 2011, 77% of respondents said that color was one of the factors in their purchase decision. Our clients are no different when it comes to color selection. Everyone has their own personal favorites. 10 of the 35 handicap vans currently listed for sale on our Specials page are white (28.5%) – and 99 of the 420 vehicles listed on our complete Inventory Search page are white (23%). Don’t like white? We’ve got 97 vans that are silver, 52 that are blue, 50 that are either gray, black or charcoal and 36 in various shades of red. We’ve also got plenty of vans with even more creative names, like Polished Metal, Mango Tango, Sandy Beach, Mocha, Magnesium Pearl, and Smoky Topaz!
MobilityWorks can help you find the right conversion van for your needs and one that also matches your preferences for a specific color. Visit with us today at a MobilityWorks showroom location in your area. Call ahead and schedule a personal one-on-0ne consultation with a Certified Mobility Consultant at 1-877-275-4907.
MobilityWorks, Marietta, & MS Walk
MobilityWorks of Marietta, Georgia was a proud sponsor of Walk MS held in downtown Marietta on Saturday April 20th. In addition to sponsoring one of the break points along the walk, MobilityWorks provided two wheelchair accessible vans to assist participants who needed help finishing the route. Scott Creel, a Certified Mobility Consultant in Marietta with 18 years of experience in the mobility industry, drove a 2012 Chrysler Town & Country with a conversion made by BraunAbility.
Holly CothranDrake, Marketing Coordinator for MobilityWorks, steered a 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan with a VMI slide out ramp system. With over 1,200 walkers participating in the walk, Scott and Holly made multiple trips and made many new friends along the route.
MobilityWorks provides wheelchair accessible vehicles and modifications that help people who have physical challenges caused by multiple sclerosis and other conditions. To read about all the products offered by MobilityWorks, vist www.mobilityworks.com.
Support for The Claddagh Foundation and Transverse Myelitis Research
MobilityWorks of Chicago has been honored to work closely with the Claddagh foundation since January of 2009. The Claddagh foundation was started by the Callahan family when their three year old daughter, Mary Kate Callahan, was diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis. Transverse Myelitis is a neurological disorder that causes inflammation resulting in injury to the spinal cord. Mary Kate’s injuries resulted in paralysis below the cervical level. Mary Kate has inspired many people in her young age.
The Claddagh Foundation has fundraisers throughout the year to help raise money for spinal cord research. One event, is hosting a wheelchair basketball tournament for children and young adults. Usually 6 teams participate in this tournament. Parents drive over 2 hours to give their children the opportunity to participate in this event. MobilityWorks has taken part in this event for 4 years by providing the snacks and beverages for the athletes. We also have information for parents that have questions on making their vehicle more accessible for their children. This year we had a “make a sign table”. It was a huge hit with parents, siblings and the participants, allowing the families of the athletes to make signs and root on their teams. We had a blast!
If you would like to learn more about The Claddagh Foundation, visit their website at www.claddaghfoundation.org.
Driver Rehab Video on MobilityWorks YouTube Channel
Learning to Drive Again with a Driver Rehabilitation Specialist
MobilityWorks of Chicago teamed up with Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital and the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association (NMEDA) to help create a video on what to expect when trying to get your driver’s license after becoming disabled. This video demonstrates the step by step the process that a potential driver will have to go through, taking the mystery out of this situation.
Another Hurdle to Overcome
Typically in the past, when a client calls us about driving, we tell them they would need training. We always do our best to education them on what to expect. We give them a list of all the available Driver Training Facilities near them. In the past, this was the best we could do. They would contact the training facilities near them and schedule a time to meet with them. They would go into the appointment not really knowing what to expect and what the next steps would be. This was always a very daunting process for someone who is trying to navigate life with their new circumstance. There were many clients who did't understand why this needed to be done in the first place and it would become even more frustrating. Some clients decide not to move ahead with training. We hope this will give more clients the confidence to move forward with their goals to get back behind the wheel.
Click here to visit our YouTube Channel to view many other helpful videos.
Note: Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital is a nonprofit teaching hospital in Wheaton, Illinois.
New Year’s Resolution Inspired by Nurse Practitioner with MS
I read a very moving article yesterday on the front page of the Cleveland Plain Dealer about a woman named Kathleen Dooner. Kathleen is a nurse practitioner with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), now in a wheelchair, who tutors nursing students four days a week at Cuyahoga Community College. That’s when she’s not doing what she loves best – helping others in need. She lives in Garfield Heights, an inner-ring suburb of Cleveland where I was also raised. She began her medical career at age 14 as a volunteer “candy striper” at Marymount Hospital, where I was also born. For those who are too young to remember, candy stripers wore special dresses that were red and white striped, like a candy cane. The uniform let everyone in the hospital know they were volunteers. Most were younger women looking forward to a future career in nursing.
Kathleen, who is now 57, was diagnosed with MS at age 32. But it wasn’t until 2004 when her deteriorating health forced her to leave a full-time nursing job with University Hospitals. So what did she do? She pressed on. She got herself a wheelchair van with hand controls, as many of MobilityWorks inspiring clients do, then she went out to find a place where she could continue to use her skills as best she can. And then some. Kathleen now volunteers at the North Coast Health Ministry in Lakewood Ohio. They serve mostly low-income residents without health insurance, many having some form of chronic disease. They serve over 2,500 patients a year with 68 volunteer doctors and 18 nurses. With administration and clerical workers, they have 104 total volunteers. People giving their time and asking for nothing in return.
The North Coast Health Ministry serves over 2,500 people each year, most without insurance and some form of chronic disease.
Until reading this article, I had never even heard of the North Coast Health Ministry. I’m sure there are several other volunteer health clinics throughout the area that I’ve also never heard of. As I sit on my couch and play video games or watch movies during my Holiday vacation, I feel like I should be doing something more. Thanks to people like Kathleen, the world truly is a better place and the spirit of Christmas lives in people like her year round. She doesn’t look at her disability and dwell on the negatives.
"I was taught that we have an obligation to help others."
— Kathleen Dooner
Kathleen’s story was very inspiring and connected to my childhood. It also made me feel pretty small – and lazy. Here I am a relatively healthy person, and I’ve never done anything truly meaningful. I've helped to coach a few of my daughter's athletic teams over the years. I've walked for MS and donated clothes to Easter Seals and Paralyzed Veterans of America. We all do things like that. But that's not "really" inspiring. That's just doing the right thing.
And so this is my resolution for 2013. To find something inspiring and meaningful that I can do to help others. I just need to find that special place or purpose, like Kathleen has, to use my skills and passion in a very profound way.
Guy Hanford
Director of Marketing, MobilityWorks
