I love it when things come full circle.
Back in January, we built a website for my friend Thom (that’s him up there), wheelsforthom.com.
Thom was in a motorcycle accident three years ago, and… well, you can read the whole story here.
In a nutshell, he was paralyzed from the chest down, and he’d been stuck in a house for 3 years, dependent on his caregiver for transportation.
So we decided to help him get a van — or at least try. We built him a website, and the awesome folks at Give donated the use of their plugin (they threw in recurring donations for free, because they’re awesome like that).
The Website Kinda Took Off
I was probably the most surprised person of the bunch, but the stuff Thom and I wrote and the website Heather built (I just watched, really) was actually a huge success! We raised $3,000 in less than a week.
Or I should say, Thom’s friends and supporters, the community around him, the community of Denton, and the WordPress community created a success.
They stepped up to the plate.
They raised that money.
It was all you guys who made this happen, and for that, we thank you.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without Give. And Give wouldn’t be around without WordPress.
Funny how a bit of blogging code can change a life…
Because Things Just Got Better From There
The ultimate goal certainly looked intimidating, at first.
(Spoiler Alert: He totally got the van. There’s Thom signing.)
Vans are not cheap.
Modified vans are even not-cheaper.
We were looking at a grand total of $80,000 plus for this dang van. Though DARS was willing to provide the modifications (about half the cost), Thom needed to at least make a down payment, secure a job, and finish the paperwork for his electric wheelchair.
That initial $3,000 was the spark that lit everything on fire.
Some large donors heard about the campaign — they sent in another $5,000.
The campaign kept growing, reaching a little over $9,000 in a matter of weeks.
Thom added some of his own savings to the growing pile.
The donations gave him heart, they showed him it could be done. All that money set an expectation, one he had to fulfill. He got the paperwork moving. He secured a job and the electric wheelchair.
(Ok, just check this thing out, it’s awesome.)
And in less than a month, the down payment was secured.
And DARS started moving.
Thom Got His Van
At first, the donations were nothing but hope.
Now don’t get me wrong — hope is awesome, but it won’t drive you down the street to grab a taco.
That hope turned into reality only a few weeks ago.
Thom got his van.
He’s not a bad driver either.
WordPress and Give formed a spark that turned into a freight train, one that barreled through all obstacles and got Thom back into life.
Hard to imagine a better outcome.
(There he goes!)
You can read more about the story on the Give website, here.
And if you have ANY need for online donations whatsoever, check out Give — it made this whole thing possible.
