Skip to main content

Mobility Worldwide





I have some new blog ideas in the works; however, this past weekend my family had a community service experience that is worth sharing. Alas, my other blog ideas will have to wait a week.

About a week ago, my wife caught wind of a family service opportunity through our church for an organization called Mobility Worldwide. Out of 25 locations across the country, the lone location in Ohio happens to be in Stow, Oh. This organization builds hand-driven carts for men and women who are immobile or don’t have legs. A team of volunteers, many of them retired, get together each week to put together these carts, which are then distributed worldwide to those in need.

The genius of the operations lies in the setup. Although it took a while to set up, a group of men got together six years ago and began setting up a workshop with preconfigured jigs set up at each station; these jigs allow for producing a consistent product. Because they are set up this way, it allows volunteers with almost no prior experience to come in and learn how to put together these carts. Mobility Worldwide in Stow has been lucky enough to attract retired skilled tradesmen such as welders, carpenters, and even a few engineers to construct ingenious methods for construction.

Six years and almost 1,400 carts later the small army of volunteers hosted a family night for our church to come and learn about the operation and to give children a chance to play a role in building the carts and learning what it means to serve others without expecting anything tangible in return. My wife and I, along with our daughter Josie and her two grandfathers were able to experience this incredible mission. Josie learned how to use a drill, as well as learning a lesson in empathy. The inspiring work that takes place in this donated warehouse space in smalltown Ohio demonstrates just how much good can come out of self-sacrifice, love, and empathy for others. We all left wondering what we could do to help and motivated to find other opportunities to serve.

 



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts On Remote Learning and This Crazy World We Are In

As we conclude this first week of online learning, I want to give my thoughts about how things are going and the implications of all this. It is never easy to make major life adjustments like this on the fly. Personally, I had to make the move to online learning while also taking two graduate classes online and while having my entire family home. Talk about a challenge! I would love to hear from some of you in the comments about how you are adjusting. I have been so incredibly impressed with the flexibility all of my students have shown through this transition to online learning. I know that this has to be incredibly hard for your senior year to be ending this way and you have all stepped up to the plate. The quality and depth of your words on the discussions board posts, as well as your effort on your 90-second speeches, have been terrific. I know this online learning thing isn’t easy, but trust me you are gaining valuable skills along the way. Namely, flexibility, time-management,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mastering Your Fear

Over winter break, I read an article by Brandon Webb titled, “How to Master Your Fear Like a Navy Seal.” He began by discussing a situation in combat in which soldiers were literally facing down an enemy in a stressful situation. Of course, while I found it interesting, I figured it only applied to life-threatening or truly terrifying situations. However, as I continued reading, I began to see many applications in my life. Fear can come in many forms: it can come when faced with a life or death situation or it can come in the form of crippling anxiety, stress, depression, and worry. I find myself ruled by the fear of the latter set of circumstances. The article discusses how to control the inner monologue of our minds to not be ruled by fear but to use it in a positive way. Webb writes, “Whatever it is, you’ll deal with it in its time and place. Meanwhile, don’t let it swim around inside your head!” He also noted that our body language can give away our fear if we let it. In other...
1 comment
Read more

Habits of Success

In a moment of vulnerability, I would like to explore the idea of self-belief. This has not always come easy to me. Self-doubt so easily creeps into our minds on a daily basis and can cripple our productivity. When we believe the lies about ourselves, it is difficult to move from the impossible to the probable. Rather than thinking about ourselves as not talented enough, not athletic enough, not smart enough, we should focus on our strengths and developing the right habits. I have always been fascinated by grit and persistence, which I will blog more about later. However, I recently came across a tweet by author and motivational speaker, Jon Gordon . Gordon speaks in great detail about positivity and using our strengths to propel us forward. As you can see from the screenshot include in this post, Gordon speaks to those habits we can control rather than the arbitrary skill that is assigned to each of us by the world. Even if you don’t have the most skill, you can be on time, ...
Post a Comment
Read more