VFNH Donates Handicap Accessible Van to Disabled Veteran of Manchester

“He is struggling to get to his VA appointments.”

Veteran David Roberts relies upon others for transportation.  He and his wife own one vehicle, a small sedan, which is barely accessible, difficult to use for the disable veteran who is wheel-chair bound due to a spinal cord injury.

Loren Gebo at the Manchester VA reached out the VFW and they referred her to VFNH to see if we could help.  Robert Sweetser of Derry, NH had a custom built handicap accessible van which was used by a family member for years, and is now the first donated vehicle to VFNH.

“We are grateful to the Sweetsers for their thoughtfulness.  They have been very forthcoming with the facts about the vehicle and patient throughout the process.” reports VFNH Executive Director, Tara Sue Myers.

The 2007 Dodge Caravan is completely equipped for handicap accessibility, but needed a little work to pass inspection.  “While we are welcoming of any vehicle donation, we weren’t comfortable with just handing it off to our veteran and delivering any potential problems.  We had to make sure that it was safe and ready to roll.”    New front and rear brakes, tires mounted and balanced and repair of the driver side window switch was completed by Randyll, a veteran who works at Moe’s Auto Service in Derry.

“Donating a vehicle is a win-win for both the donor and the recipient.  Vehicle donations to VFNH enable donors to receive a tax-deductible contribution for the market-value of the automobile and it’s is a life-changing contribution for a needy veteran.

It cost the foundation less than $1000 to get the van ready with title in hand.  The estimated value of the vehicle is over $9000.

“The real star in this giving event is the Concord DMV.” Myers reports.   “When they learned what VFNH was attempting to do, they moved with a quick-step to provide us with a same-day title so that we could expedite the delivery of the van without delay.

VFNH thanks Loren Gebo at the VA, Donor Robert Sweetser and the Concord DMV for helping the VFNH change the life of David Roberts in Manchester.  Best to all.

“There wasn’t a dry eye in the lot.”