Clients and Friends

You will be hard pressed to find a high school student with more drive and determination than Jack Wolf, a Senior at Brecksville/Broadview Heights High School, just south of Cleveland, Ohio. Just a few years ago, Jack earned the prestigious honor of Eagle Scout, he was a state ambassador for Muscular Dystrophy and most recently he and his service dog “Tommy” have gained national media attention as part of their school marching band.

In 2005, Jack was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, but that has never stopped him from chasing his dreams. Jack has been playing the euphonium, a baritone brass horn similar to the tuba, since he was in 5th grade. During his Freshman year, Jack approached his parents about joining the marching band with all of his best friends. His father Brian Wolf designed a contraption out of PVC to hold Jack’s instrument in place, and added a controller to the left side of the wheelchair so Jack would be able to steer and play at the same time. Then all that was left to do was learn all of the songs and marching formations.

In celebration of Halloween, we thought that it would be the perfect time to catch up with one of the great organizations we have wrote about in the past, Magic Wheelchair. A few years ago we wrote a story about Magic Wheelchair, a non profit organization dedicated to making the most incredible costumes for kids in wheelchairs. Since that time, founders Ryan and Lana Weimer have worked with volunteers all across the country to create some of the coolest costumes we have ever seen!

Earlier this year, six different children reached out to Magic Wheelchair to inquire about having popular super hero costumes created. In grand fashion, Magic Wheelchair delivered by designing and building costumes for the entire “Justice League”. Over the summer, the new friends showed off their super hero suits at the 2017 Comic Con in San Diego, California. The costumes were presented to the children and their families with the help of Adam Savage, former co-host of MythBusters and editor-in-chief of the website Tested.

Check out the video below to see Cyborg, Wonder Woman, Batman, Super Girl, The Flash and Aquagirl in action:

This year is Magic Wheelchair’s third Halloween and with the help of generous donations and volunteers they have gone above and beyond! You can visit the Magic Wheelchair Facebook page to view videos of costume reveals from across the country.

Magic Wheelchair is always accepting applications for costumes and are happy to build costumes for occasions outside of Halloween. Kids, with their parents permission, can submit a 1-3 minute video at www.magicwheelchair.org and they will pair as many children as possible with their volunteers.

Please click here if you would like to donate, or visit www.magicwheelchair.org/volunteers if you are interested in volunteering to lead a build.

Mary Elizabeth McAuley was a very special young woman who touched the lives of many in the town of Hendersonville, Tennessee. People all over the Northeast suburb of Nashville knew Mary for her radiant smile and positive attitude that was so strong, it was practically contagious. Due to complications at birth, Mary was born with cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Unfortunately, Mary passed away in 2015, but in honor of her memory her family is raising funds to construct a state-of-the-art inclusive playground where all of Mary’s friends can play.

Mary’s parents Tommy and Rachel have been very creative when it comes to fundraising by hosting several events and working with local businesses. They have partnered with Middle Tennessee Audiology, who is donating $5 from every hearing test towards the playground. In addition, the family has organized a half-marathon, started a memorial brick drive and have secured sponsorship from several local companies. One of their biggest contributions for the playground came from winning the USA Today’s “A Community Thrives” grant contest. The $50,000 award helped put Mary’s Magical Place fundraising above their initial goal.

The playground will feature several wheelchair accessible pieces of equipment including a swing that doesn’t require children to transfer from their manual or power wheelchair, a roundabout style “Ability Whril” and a “Sway Fun Glider”. Other thoughtful inclusive features at Mary’s Magical Place include a musical instrument display, sign language mural, braille boards and sensory items for children with autism.

The city of Hendersonville has already set aside several acres of land in Veterans Park for the inclusive playground and has agreed to keep up with maintenance after construction is completed. The city will bid out the project later this year and hope to have the playground completed by May of 2018.

If you are interested in learning more about Mary’s Magical Place and keeping up-to-date with their progress please visit www.marysmagicalplace.org They are also still accepting memorial brick donations starting at $125.