by Gabriella Vukman
On Friday 16 February, Ferntree Gully North Primary School embarked on their Wheelathon day journey.
Run through rotary and in conjunction with Wheelchairs for Kids, students participated in wheelchair sports in an effort to raise awareness around wheelchair accessibility.
The school has also been running a fundraiser and has raised just under five thousand dollars so far.
Head of Junior School Council and Grade 5/6 teacher Claire Keltie said, “I was hoping to raise enough money for four wheelchairs across the school, but historically our school doesn’t tend to raise large amounts so I was a little bit unsure as to how well it would go over.”
“For a school of just under 300 kids, raising just under five thousand dollars is amazing,” Ms Keltie said.
“We’ve had several families donate a wheelchair per child and it costs $275 to build one wheelchair.”
Wheelchairs for Kids is a Perth-based, non-for-profit organization that builds wheelchairs for children in need.
“Wheelchairs for Kids started with a group of retirees getting together and wanting to build things with their hands,” Ms Keltie said.
“These retiree volunteers build parts of the wheelchair which are assembled at their destination and each wheelchair is all terrain and grows with each child.
“There are eighty different countries Wheelchairs for Kids have donated to.”
Wheelchairs for Kids representatives and rotary helpers came in loaded with two trailers worth of wheelchairs and set up an obstacle course for the children to navigate.
The event was open to parents and students alike.
“Events like this aid the community because they bring us together and give us a common purpose to work towards,” Ms Keltie said.
“When this came across my desk, I thought, what a wonderful opportunity to reach beyond our local community and expose kids to other children who are just like them but miles away.”
Ms Keltie said, “I’m very humbled and amazed with how well our children have jumped on board with this charity.”
Donations are still welcome and can be made via the school website at https://www.ferntree.vic.edu.au/
