The Liberty County Kiwanis Club presented the Liberty County/Armed Services YMCA two aquatic wheelchairs on Thursday, May 26. During the presentation, Layton Gilroy, Kiwanis president, said the two chairs are the first of more to come. In all, the YMCA could receive up to five chairs.
Gilroy said the chairs will provide access for a population within the community that currently doesn’t have the means to use the facility’s indoor pool. He added they are also looking to partner with various agencies who work with injured and disabled soldiers and civilians to utilize the chairs at the YMCA for physical and medicinal therapies.
“This is one of the largest projects since we’ve started,” Gilroy said. “It falls into place with what our mission has been since the beginning, and that is to help the community that is the most underserved in our area and to give them the same access that my two perfectly healthy children have had their whole life.”
Gilroy said each chair cost around $650, which was covered by several fundraisers, and the club plans to purchase a different model that is about $800.
YMCA Senior Programs Director Richard
Somerville said he is extremely grateful that the facility will now be able to fill a need for the community.
“There is nowhere you can go within a 70-mile radius to have equipment like this,” he said. “We are able to supply a need where nobody else can, and we are grateful to supply this to the community.”
Somerville said the YMCA is ready to put the chairs to use immediately. There is already a ramp in place at the shallow end of the pool to accommodate the chairs, and the facility’s lifeguards are fully trained and certified to monitor for emergencies and have been educated on how the chairs work and what they need to keep an eye on. But for the most part, the people handling the chairs will be caregivers and companions.
Gilroy said the Kiwanis’ next mission is to make special-needs playgrounds available at various parks within the county.
“We have 13 parks in Liberty County, and we are wanting to put ADA-compliant and easily accessible equipment for special-needs and handicapped children in every park,” he said.
