On Thursday, January 9th, the New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS) held their January Board of Directors meeting. During the meeting, three New York area families received new wheelchair accessible vans to replace vehicles lost during the devastation of 2012’s Super Storm Sandy. All three vans were funded through a combination of federal funding and private, charitable donations made to NYDIS. Working with Bussani Mobility, who performed modifications to meet the specific needs of each family, NYDIS was able to help these families regain the freedom that comes from having the right transportation needed for people living with disabilities. In the video below, Peter B. Gudaitis of NYDIS announces the donations that were being made that evening.
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Click Here to read Press Release
As many still struggle to recover after more than a year, some families were affected in much more devastating ways. The three families who received the vans not only lost their previous vehicles but also their ability to get out of their houses. For the better part of the last year they have worked with NYDIS, who gathered the necessary funds to purchase these vehicles for the families. While federal funding did help towards acquiring these vans, a large part of the funding came from private charitable donations that were received by NYDIS and the many groups that work with them. Bussani Mobility, the premier provider of wheelchair accessible vans to the New York Tri-state area, sourced the vans and made necessary modifications to meet each families particular needs.
“To play a role in helping these three families get back on the road with the freedom that a wheelchair accessible van provides to them is one of the great benefits of what we do” said Bussani Mobility Vice President Dan Bussani. “When the people at NYDIS reached out to us we knew that this was something we had to do.” Mike Lampert and Carl Surface, two of Bussani’s Mobility Specialists who worked with all three families on getting them the exact vans they needed, echoed Dan’s sentiments. “When you talked with these people and understood all that they had been dealing with since Sandy devastated the region, their plights became our top priority,” said Lampert.
Below are links to additional videos from the evening where the families received their vans.
Mr Ali receives keys to his van from Bussani’s Mike Lampert at Jan 9 2014 NYDIS Meeting. Click Here To View
Salihi Family and their new Van Jan 9 2014. Click Here To View
Mr Curry received the keys to his new van and takes the wheel. Click Here To View
Mr Curry takes the wheel and says ‘I’ll drive!’. Click Here To View