CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. — It’s a new year with new beginnings.
Officials with Variety the Children’s Charity presented local kids with disabilities more than 15 pieces of adaptive equipment, including My Bikes and My Strollers.
Monday’s ceremony was in partnership with the Capital Area Intermediate Unit and Blackburn’s.
“These January presentations are particularly wonderful as it is a great new start to 2024, to provide this equipment to them to get their year going in a positive way,” said Tom Baker, CEO of Variety the Children’s Charity.
The organization has presented more than 10 million dollars worth of equipment to families for more than a decade. More than $700,000 in Cumberland, Dauphin, and Perry Counties alone.
“Over the last 12 years we’ve provided over 7,000 pieces of equipment through My Bike, My Stroller, and My Voice, so we’re happy that a lot of it here has come to the capital area region,” Baker said.
Amanda Hill first learned about adaptive strollers through her son’s therapist.
“After we read about it, it was like ‘This is going to be easy, this’ll be helpful,’ versus the big wagon that we were using, this is definitely life-changing,” Hill said.
Each bike and stroller are custom-made to accommodate a child’s physical needs.
The organization also offers a My Voice Program which gives children a communication device to express thoughts, feelings, wants and needs.
Parents say the results have been life-changing.
“We can keep doing things longer because we have a way for him to rest for a little while instead of just having to go home cause he’s exhausted,” Hill said.
Baker says the mission is to make sure every child feels included.
“It makes our world more inclusive, kinder, they can experience many more things and their families can as well through this life-changing equipment,” Baker said.