What is Chariots of Hope?
Where do we get the used wheelchairs?
Where do the chairs go?
How does someone request a chair?
What if a donated chair needs fixing?
Where do the funds needed for repairs and shipping cost come from?
Why was Chariots of Hope started?
How many chairs have been collected?
Who was the first recipient to be given a chair?
What is 1,000 Wheels Day?
We are a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to provide mobility to confined individuals by distributing used wheelchairs to people in need, at no cost to the recipient.
The chairs are donated by individuals in the community who no longer have a need for them, but would like to know that they will be used by someone else. Generous individuals from all over the State have donated wheelchairs. Additionally, hospitals and nursing homes have donated chairs that were no longer in use at their facilities.
Over 18 million people throughout the world are bedridden because wheelchairs are not available or accessible. Chariots' wheelchairs will be distributed around the world, and close to home, as we become aware of individual need.
How does someone request a chair?
There is an application process to help Chariots determine the type of chair needed, the location of need and availability of shipping to that area. Chariots looks to churches and community organizations, as well as individuals, for referrals.
What if a donated chair needs fixing?
Wheelchairs are repaired by volunteers at our headquarters located at 45 Barber Pond Road, Bloomfield, Connecticut. Parts are taken from donated wheelchairs to repair other chairs.
Additional volunteers interested in donated time to repair wheelchairs should contact Chariots of Hope.
Where do the funds needed for repairs and shipping cost come from?
Chariots of Hope is dependent upon donations, fund-raising, and endowments. To date, most of our funds have been generated by written requests for donations. Each year, on the first Saturday of May, Chariots of Hope, together with the CT State Police, sponsors 1000 Wheels Day to collect chairs and raise money.
Why was Chariots of Hope started?
Chariots of Hope, a nonprofit organization, was founded in the Fall of 1998 by The Newport Foundation Inc., which is also nonprofit. The group simply saw a need for refurbishing used wheelchairs. The price of wheelchairs can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars - a cost many people cannot afford.
How many chairs have been collected?
Over five hundred wheelchairs have been collected. The repairs are paid for through fund-raising and donations. To see a list of donators, click here.
Who was the first recipient to be given a chair?
September 1998, Michele Carney, director of Chariots, traveled to South Africa to deliver the first wheelchair to a 9-year old girl, Anna, who had never left her bed in a hospital ward.
Chariots of Hope sponsored its first major event on May 5, 1999. The event was successful, with donations of over 80 used wheelchairs and statewide awareness of the organization and its cause.
May 4, 2002 is the date for the fourth annual 1,000 Wheels Day. The goal of Chariots of Hope is to collect 500 used wheelchairs and secure $15,000.00 in corporate sponsorships. The wheelchairs will be refurbished and donated to individuals who would otherwise be unable to afford them. It is estimated that nearly 18 million children and adults around the world are currently in need of wheelchairs.
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