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Fraternity continues to build community outreach efforts |
| By
Shannon Coon |
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Apr 27, 2006 |
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In the past, members of UT’s chapter of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity have built an accessible tree house for children with disabilities in Texas and cycled from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities.
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| Pi Kappa Phi members Ben Warren, left, and Tim Swank help build a wheelchair ramp. |
Last month, 20 members of the fraternity continued their efforts to help people with disabilities by building a ramp for Leland Foster, a Swanton, Ohio, man with cerebral palsy.
The fraternity and Foster seemed destined to cross paths.
“Leland contacted me to see if I knew of anyone who could help with building a ramp for his new home,” said Debbie Arbogast, coordinator of services for the UT Office of Accessibility. “A few weeks later Eric Goad of the fraternity contacted our office to see if we knew of a consumer in the community who needed a ramp constructed. This was perfect timing — I guess you could call it a blessing for Leland.”
Charlie Martin, home accessibility manager with the Ability Center of Greater Toledo, supplied the ramp design. “He had the plans, we just provided the man power,” Goad said.
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| Pi Kappa Phi members help Charlie Martin of the Ability Center of Greater Toledo build a ramp. The fraternity provided labor and funding for the project. |
The Office of Accessibility provided food and beverages to the fraternity volunteers throughout the day.
“It was a complete act of kindness and generosity on the fraternity’s part: to work hard with a specific focus, giving their resources and talents to another with a specific need. That was admirable,” Arbogast said. “The entire event was like watching ‘Extreme Home Makeover’ under Charlie Martin’s direction and guidance.”
The results were appreciated by the local resident.
“The ramp gives me a chance to get out of my house instead of having to go through my garage,” Foster said. “It allows me to get to the front porch because before I wasn’t able to get to my front porch.”
“[The ramp] took about eight hours to build,” said Goad, chair of PUSH, the fraternity’s national outreach project that raises money and provides services and education to raise awareness about disabilities.
“It was definitely something we enjoyed doing,” Goad said. “We feel good about what we’ve done, and we will probably do it again this fall.”
“I think it’s really great what they did for me,” Foster said. “Most disabled people don’t have a high enough income to afford this on their own. They are giving people with disabilities an opportunity to live more independently.”
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