The Wheelchair Ramp Team of Messiah Lutheran Church had an extremely successful ramp building day today. This ongoing ministry of Messiah Lutheran Church is conducted in partnership with CASA of Madison County to build fully functional and safe ramps for those in need.
As this was the largest ramp we have ever built, several vehicles were overflowing with raw material.
The materials for these ramps are provided by CASA which stands for Care Assurance System for the Aging and Homebound. CASA is a non-profit agency located in Huntsville, Alabama that provides services to individuals age 60 and older and to the homebound (wheelchair and bed bound) of all ages since 1979. CASA’s mission is to provide needed services to aging/homebound individuals that allow them to remain at home and age in place. Our programs are designed to enable the elderly and homebound to maintain their independence, dignity, health and safety by providing services that specifically address their special physical and emotional needs.
For this ramp, we first had to remove some existing railings on the stairs in preparation for the new ramp. It was exciting see some sparks flying at the beginning of our ramp build.
After the preparation work was done, we began the assembly process. Thank goodness we had great weather and a great group of guys who showed up to work today.
At noon, our master chef Greg Kilby prepare a tasty mid-day feast for us.
Then it was back to work to complete the ramp assembly.
You can get a sense of how big this ramp was from this top down shot. The entire ramp ended up being 86 feet long. In case you were wondering, that is about 200 2×4’s, 13 frame sections, 200 deck boards, 50 lbs of screws, and a whole lot of manual labor. I can’t say enough about how hard the team worked and what they accomplished in a few hours.
The homeowner was so very appreciative of our efforts. She is so excited about having a safe way to enter and leave her home. We are thankful that we had the opportunity to meet her and help her out in this small way. She lifted all of our spirits today.
Click here to see some additional photos from today’s build.
The Messiah Lutheran Church ramp team is one of the many teams in the greater Huntsville area that support CASA by providing teams to assemble the ramps at the client’s homes. If you would like to participate in a future wheelchair ramp build, please contact the Messiah Lutheran Church Office at 256-721-0041.