Jenna Bushnell beamed at her 5-year-old daughter, Kelsey, as she was being secured into her new adaptive stroller Wednesday at the Clairview School in Hempfield.
“This is so much more usable for us. She has a wheelchair that is very big. We live on a farm, and it will be easier to get around,” said Bushnell of North Huntingdon. She watched as Randy Prunty, business development manager at Blackburn’s Physicians Pharmacy of Tarentum, showed Bushnell how to adjust the straps and padding to make Kelsey comfortable in the new stroller.
Kelsey, who is autistic and nonverbal, was among 10 youngsters with disabilities who received equipment that will help their families keep them involved in life outside of the home, thanks to funding from Variety — the Children’s Charity, a nonprofit based in Cranberry. Variety partnered with Westmoreland Intermediate Unit No. 7, which operates Clairview School, and Blackburn’s Physicians Pharmacy.
“We want to make it possible to make it so your child can live their life to the fullest,” Charlie LaVallee, chief executive of Variety, told about 40 family, friends and supporters who gathered at the school along Donohoe Road to receive strollers and bicycles.
The specialty equipment is customized based on the needs of the child, as determined by a therapist who provides details specific to each recipient, Prunty said. The pharmacy then orders Kid Kart Mighty Lite strollers and Rifton bicycles from the manufacturers and assembles them. Bikes may have special handlebars, brakes and a steering bar, while strollers may come equipped with footrests, back support and even a tray.
It is costly for families to buy the customized equipment on their own, said Pam Caudill of Mt. Pleasant, whose 5-year-old autistic granddaughter, Emma Yurt, received a stroller.
“It’s a miracle to us. I own my own small business, and I could not afford it,” Caudill said.
Variety has set higher income-eligible guidelines for families to quality for assistance than some other nonprofits, LaVallee said.
“The middle-income folks can’t get help,” he said.
The distribution Wednesday was among more than 330 bicycles, strollers and communication devices worth close to $500,000 that has been provided to children in Westmoreland County over the past decade, LaVallee said. Since November 2012, more than 5,000 adaptive bicycles, strollers and communication devices have been given to eligible children throughout the 71 counties Variety serves in Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia. It serves children and adults who have a documented physical, mental or physical disability and are income eligible.
Variety has heard from families who told them that their children feel “left out when others are riding bikes,” but they join in the fun with the customized bicycles, LaVallee said.
To Renae Starr of Mt. Pleasant Township, receiving an adaptive stroller for her 7-year-old daughter, Bailey, who has autism and is nonverbal, gives them a greater freedom to move around.
“I can go to a grocery store now. I’m so excited I can do more things now,” such as walking at Mammoth Park, Starr said. When they go to the beach, Bailey now can be pushed along the boardwalk, Starr said.
A new stroller will allow Jessica Rogers of Blairsville the opportunity to take her 7-year-old son Isaac to places such as the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, which is too expansive for him to walk around without becoming too tired because of weak muscles.
And it means more than just getting outside in the fresh air.
“He feels calmer when he is seated. This keeps him safer than a standard stroller,” Rogers said.
