About Us
About us
The story behind why we do what we do
Sending wheelchairs from Kansas City to countries around the world. Over 9000 wheelchairs have been shipped since 1997!
At a business seminar in South Dakota in 1997, Randy Horn met Mark Richards, a missionary. Mark shared with Randy about his work taking wheelchairs to developing countries. When Randy got home to Lee’s Summit, MO he told his wife, Laura, about Mark’s efforts. Laura, who was a teacher of children with severe disabilities, said to Randy, “We’ve got to do that!” “Do what?” Randy asked. “Gather wheelchairs here in Kansas City, of course!” she replied.
Thus began Wheels to Freedom. Sponsored by Deerbrook Covenant Church in Lee’s Summit, Wheels to Freedom has been gathering wheelchairs in the greater Kansas City area ever since. We regularly ship 600-700 chairs each year out of the Kansas City area. To date, we have shipped over 9000 wheelchairs to countries all over the world.
For a number of years, Deerbrook sponsored an annual wheelchair drive with a free car wash. More recently, volunteers from the church and elsewhere help collect the chairs, store them, and load them to be trucked to repair centers.
Wheels to Freedom works with Hope Haven International Ministries (HHIM) in Rock Valley, Iowa. https://www.hopehaven.org/what-we-do/international-ministries
Chairs gathered in the Kansas City area are regularly shipped to HHIM. They operate several repairs centers, staffed by volunteers. After they are repaired, the chairs are shipped and distributed internationally to developing countries.
Chairs are also repaired at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, SD and the Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield, SD. Link to info on wheelchair work at the state prisons: https://doc.sd.gov/adult/industry/shop/wheelchair.aspx
The chairs are then distributed by volunteer teams working with local Rotary and Red Cross groups, churches, and other charitable organizations.
Hope Haven International Ministries has shipped over 130,000 chairs to 109 countries. Major recipient countries include Guatemala, Mexico, Vietnam, and Romania.
