Grant Winner Poses With His Handicapped Accessible Minivan

Kyle Gerike is 16 years old and was born with Spina Bifida at a T4 level.  Their family car was a Chevy Blazer.  As many of you can relate, Kyle’s mother and father had to physically lift him in and out of their vehicle several times a day, along with breaking down and reassembling his wheelchair.  After many years of this routine, the tugging and pulling was not only taking a toll both physically and mentally on Mom & Dad, but on Kyle as well. The family was informed in August that they were the recipients of a Spina Bifida Grant that would help with the purchase of a lowered floor van conversion.  They were very excited, but knew they would need additional financial assistance if they were going to be able to purchase a mobility van for their family. They turned to The National Organization for Vehicle Accessibility and applied for one of the $5000 Mobility grants.  On October 1^st, the winners of the 2012 National Organization for Vehicle Accessibility Grants were announced, and the Gerike Family was ecstatic to learn that they had been chosen as one of the winners.    With some help from Superior Van & Mobility finding a special lender that understood the process of financing a lowered floor conversion van (KATLC), the family was able to take delivery of their new vehicle on October 5^th. We were honored to be a part of this special day for this special family!