- April 28, 2024
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They hope travel scooters will help ‘somebody else’s dad to get around.’
Joanie Wheeler, of Ormond Beach, never knew how much her dad’s military service meant to him until late in his life, when she asked him about it one Veteran’s Day.
“He was proud of his service,” she said. “In the last year of his life, he talked about it so much.” He also enjoyed talking to the other veterans at the V.A. about their experiences. He served as a cook in the U.S. Army in Korea and the Philippines during World War II.
Wheeler, a teacher at Pathways Elementary, also noticed that her dad always helped the other veterans when he could. If they were in a waiting room, he would offer his chair to someone who needed it. He would also loan his cane or walker when it would help someone.
His nature of helping other veterans gave Wheeler’s husband, Jack Kump, an idea to honor her father after he died last April.
Seeing the need for mobility among the veterans, the couple decided to buy 10 travel scooters, at a cost of about $10,000, and donate them to Disabled American Veterans. They had a sticker made, saying “In honor of Robert I. Wheeler, WWII, Pacific Theater, U.S. Army” for the back of each scooter.
Battery powered, the scooters can be packed in a car and taken to malls or wherever the person wants to get around. The couple ordered the scooters online from a company called SpinLife, located in Columbus, Ohio. They called the DAV in Washington, D.C., and they were directed to the Florida headquarters in Gainesville to arrange the donation.
Kump said they saw the need for mobility when they visited Wheeler in assisted living.
He said Wheeler’s dad at first resisted using a cane, but eventually did, and then he resisted using a walker but eventually used one. Kump believes he would have used a scooter if he had one and it would have been very useful.
“They give a person freedom from sitting around all the time,” Kump said. “Maybe somebody else’s father can get around.”
They decided buying chairs would be an effective way to make a donation. When money is donated, they reasoned, a certain amount must be used for administrative cost. But the entire chair goes to the recipient.
Kump also has a personal reason for making the donation. He attended a military high school, Randolph-Macon Academy, in Virginia, which he credits with providing direction for him.
Part of Joanie Wheeler’s duties at Pathways is teaching special education, and she knows the importance of mobility.
“It’s something I can do to help someone,” Joanie Wheeler said.
She said her mother, still living in Richmond, Virginia, where she grew up, was thrilled when she found out about the donation.
They hope to inspire others to give, but realize $10,000 is a lot to donate.
“A little bit from a lot of people would make a bigger difference,” she said.
