BOY GETTING VAN
Fundraising campaign for Whitney Pier boy successful
Whitney Pier mom says campaign to buy accessible vehicle was a success.
A Whitney Pier boy’s family has reached its goal of raising enough money to purchase him wheelchair-accessible van.
Less than a week after the Cape Breton Post published a story where Nichol MacNeil feared the family was running short on time to make use of a grant to help with the purchase, she announced via a Go Fund Me campaign page Wednesday that the goal of raising just over $20,000 had been achieved.
“I am happy to report that we have reached our amount that Devon needs,” she wrote. “We are waiting for couple of calls now to come (through) for the right van that fits our needs.”
She also thanked people who donated to the cause, with the Go Fund Me campaign alone attracting more than 200 supporters. Donations ranged from $20 to as much as $5,000.
MacNeil had been working for a couple of years, holding small fundraisers in an effort to raise money for the van, which she needs to transport her nineyear-old son Devon.
He has cerebral palsy, a feeding tube, a seizure disorder, is developmentally delayed and has other ongoing medical issues.
Some of her fundraisers have included placing containers at grocery store checkout stands to collect donations, bottle donations and selling tickets on themed baskets at a Sydney flea market.
The family’s current van is not wheelchair-accessible.
The cost of a van that has already been modified is just under $50,000. Five months ago, MacNeil received a $20,000 disability grant from President’s Choice Children’s Charity, however it expires at the end of April.
Under the grant’s guidelines, funding approval is valid for six months from date of approval.
After all of her efforts, MacNeil still had a fundraising shortfall of about $20,000.