In May the Medina Rotary Club received an email requesting help. The email was from Samantha Fisher, a social worker for Monroe Plan for Medical Care located in Pittsford, NY. Ms. Fisher had a client in need of transportation.
The recipient, Ronald Jackson, was a person in desperate need of a bicycle.
“He is on a very tight income due to being disabled and is currently not living near a bus stop. He is hoping to purchase a bicycle to help him get back and forth to the store and around Medina”, Ms. Fisher wrote.
“I was not sure if this might be something your agency could assist with. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.”
Ms. Fisher says “I contacted the Rotary after checking with a couple other organizations. They were unable to assist so I tried to think of another community program that is known for helping those in need.
“The Rotary is known for being a great community resource so I thought I would take a chance and send a message!!!”
After several emails back and forth the Rotary Club was able to find a bike to meet Ronald’s requests. On Friday, May 27th, Ronald received his bicycle.
“Ron has been doing such a great job to keep up on appointments and maintain his apartment, and now he has his dog!! He has been doing great and I want to try and contact an agency who might be able to help him take another step towards being self-sufficient. Having this bike will open up so much more for him, being able to get to stores and even the library if he wanted to. With his anxiety it is difficult to utilize RTS, and there was not a stop near him to walk to. The bike was his idea to increase his mobility and community access” said Ms. Fisher.
Mr. Jackson, in a follow-up conversation, said “Thank you so much! I love it! At my age, though, it is tough to get up large hills. I only made it three quarters of the way the first day. But I will get there!!!”
