Community generosity delivers a lift
Lions-organized fundraiser helps boy with rare genetic condition get chair lift
For Gabe Tucker and his family, a grand would have been great.
Given that, the results of a fundraiser organized by the Portugal Cove-st. Philip’s Lions Club on behalf of the Tucker family would have to be described as stupendous.
Gabe is a 12-year-old boy with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a rare genetic condition that causes the muscles in the body to weaken over time. According to Lisa, his mother, Gabe requires his wheelchair close to 100 per cent of the time, making a lift for the family’s vehicle a necessity if they want to do things as simple as going to a store with him.
“(His mom’s) words when we started were ‘If the Lions Club can raise $1,000, that’s $1,000 I don’t have to finance,’” said Suzette Moss, a member of the PC-SP Lions who headed up the online fundraising effort.
“The cost of lift and vehicle (combined)… she was looking at close to $100,000. People don’t have that kind of funds. So, going into it, that was the thought — if we could only raise $1,000 that would be great.”
It turned out to be “great” multiplied by 42 … and then some.
Sunday, in a ceremony at the Holiday Inn Express in St. John’s, Gabe and his family were presented with a cheque for $42,255, to cover the cost of the lift.
In actuality, more than that was raised, with the additional amount being earmarked for Gabe’s future needs.
“To everyone who donated and helped far and wide all over the world, it’s greatly appreciated,” said Gabe’s dad, Brad Squires. “You don’t know how much it means to us.”
The cheque presentation turned out to be sort of a double ceremony. With Gabe’s birthday coming in just a few days, there were balloons, cake and “Happy Birthday” sung by those gathered.
“Thank you so much everyone so much for donating for me and my family for our family vehicle,” said Gabe, a student at Brookside Intermediate in Portugal Cove-st. Philip’s.
Lisa Tucker completed the expressions of gratitude.
“And thank you to the Lions Club,” she said. “We couldn’t have done it without all your support.”
“Knowing that we’re going to be able to do this for him, it’s an incredible feeling.” Suzette Moss Portugal Cove-st. Philip’s Lions Club
It indeed was the result of a multi-faceted effort by Moss, her family, the Lions and Gabe’s extended family.
It included a 50-50 ticket draw which sold 10,000 tickets in less than two weeks.
There were also donations from people across Canada. Then, large corporate donations started to flow in, something Moss initially thought would be difficult considering the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One anonymous family from the community said it would donate $10 for each time someone shared a post about Gabe’s fundraiser, up to a total of $1,000 or 100 shares worth. It got 800 shares in a short period of time.
And when the Lions launched an online auction, 318 items were donated. They ended up with something for everyone, Moss said, including hotel stays, golf passes and even a pair of mittens.
“All the funds are being held by the Portugal Cove-st. Philip’s Lion’s Club and we will write the cheque directly to Universal Motion, which is the company for the lift,” Moss said. “Any funds that have been raised above and beyond the cost of the lift will be held by the Lions Club for the next piece of equipment that Gabe will need.”
Earlier this month, Moss came to truly realize the impact this new lift will have on Gabe and his family when she went to their home to do a short live video to broadcast on Facebook.
“I was almost brought to tears to see Gabe for the first time in his power chair, knowing that without this lift, this child can’t do the things that my kids can do,” Moss said. “My kids can hop in the car and we can run to the beach or run to the store. Without this lift, Gabe is not going to be able to do that. Knowing that we’re going to be able to do this for him, it’s an incredible feeling.”