Hope 4 Mobility has worked on many unique projects, such as this equestrian ramp. (Right) Other Hope 4 Mobility projects and clients.
Wellington-Based
HOPE 4 MOBILITY
Hope 4 Mobility Secretary Mary Pengelley, Founder/President Ollie Jones IV, Treasurer Tracy Jones and Director Ronald Fontes.
Provides Equipment For People With Special Needs By Deborah Welky
One of the happiest days of a parent’s life is when a child abandons the stroller and walks from place to place. No more dragging the thing up and down stairs or heaving it into the car. But for parents whose children are confined to wheelchairs, that day will never come. As their children grow, the chair can become a bigger burden, yet the child cannot get around without it. Wellington resident Ollie Jones IV can identify with this problem. His daughter, Janae, was born with a rare condition known as arterial venous malformation, which led to cerebral palsy. She has also been diagnosed with epilepsy, autism and a neurological disorder. With his background in transportation, Jones knows how important mobility is to a person’s quality of life. He also knew that he could help. By the time Janae was 6, Jones was building all sorts of equipment designed to make her life easier. There were suspension walkers, standers, special-needs chairs and a device to help 56 june 2015 | wellington the magazine
stretch her hamstring muscles. “My daughter inspired me,” Jones explained. “I started designing equipment to help her, and then her school asked me to help design equipment for the students there. By 2008, I had a business going.” Janae Designs and its line of customized medical equipment were quickly embraced by the disabled community, but there was a problem. “I realized that there were lots of kids who needed my devices but whose parents couldn’t afford them,” Jones recalled. “So, in 2009, I held a golf tournament to raise funds so I could give the equipment away.”
With the money he raised, Jones was also able to supply products and services to children with special needs, but now there was another problem — tournament participants wanted to be able to claim their donations as tax deductions. Jones founded the nonprofit Hope 4 Mobility in 2010 with the mission of giving people with developmental disabilities and special needs financial assistance and relief through essential equipment, products and therapy services designed to help improve their health, mobility and quality of life. On its web page (www.hope4mobility.org), visitors can learn about the lives that the nonprofit has touched: ♦ There’s Neydy Maldonaldo, whose family needed a wheelchair ramp to get her in and out of their mobile home. Hope 4 Mobility built one. ♦ There’s Marilu Bruno, whose old-