When the Lee's Summit-based nonprofit group
Wheels to Freedom holds a free car wash, it definitely means free: No donations are allowed unless you have an unused wheelchair stashed away. Those are the wheels that organization founders Randy and Laura Horn are looking for. Since 1997, the Horns have collected wheelchairs to ship off to disabled people in developing countries. They collect wheelchairs from donors all year but typically gather a surprising number at their annual awareness-raising event, held today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the parking lot of the Lee's Summit Hobby Lobby at 291 Highway and Langsford Road. There's no charge for the car wash, the music, the kids carnival or the hot dogs. But if you happen to have a spare wheelchair at home, bring it along (it's tax-deductible). "When the average yearly income is $1,000 in some countries," Randy Horn says, "a wheelchair can cost a fortune." For more information, call 816-350-2663 or see
wheelstofreedom.org.
Sat., June 13, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 2009
