Chancellor Drake Supports Free Wheelchair Mission

Chancellor Drake joined campus and community guests April 21 in Anteater Plaza for the kickoff of the Free Wheelchair Mission’s 2008 Mobility in Motion national tour, which aims to raise awareness about the millions of people with disabilities worldwide who need wheelchairs.

The Irvine-based Free Wheelchair Mission crafts and donates low-cost wheelchairs to thousands of disabled people in poor and developing countries. UC Irvine is forming a partnership with the mission to promote fundraising and leverage campus engineering expertise to aid in the construction of low-cost wheelchairs. The Center for Service in Action, the School of Engineering and other campus service organizations are participating in the effort.

Chancellor Drake greets first-year UCI students Caroline Lee, left, and Venus Leung, seated in wheelchairs from Free Wheelchair Mission following the organization’s April 21 kickoff of its 2008 Mobility in Motion national tour at UCI. J. Michael McCarthy, co-director of UCI’s Center for Engineering Science in Design, stands behind Lee. He consulted with the mission’s founder, Don Schoendorfer, on possible ways to augment the wheelchair designs. Schoendorfer, standing behind Leung, designed the wheelchairs for less than $50 using basic materials. At far right is Alyson Roth, development manager for Free Wheelchair Mission.

Event photo gallery
Earth Times: UC Irvine and Free Wheelchair Mission Join Forces to Help Millions of People with Disabilities Around the World
Free Wheelchair Mission Mobility in Motion Tour
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