Short Summary
I want to give the gift of mobility to children with Cerebral Palsy by providing motorized wheelchairs to children who are dealing with this terrible disease.
Cerebral Palsy is a disease that affects body movement, muscle control, coordination and tone. It impacts reflex, posture, balance and sometimes fine motor skills, gross motor skills and oral motor functioning. There is no cure. It impacts the lives of those with the disease, but also the lives of family members and friends of those diagnosed.
I’m Jacob Zalewski and I have Cerebral Palsy. I was born three months premature. Doctors gave me a 3% chance of survival due to various complications at birth including CP. I don’t consider myself to be handicapped by this debilitating disease. Rather I considered it a blessing. I know that there are people out there dealing with the same disease who are in need of help. Seven years ago, I started the One Step Closer Foundation, a non-profit, charitable organization whose main goal is to ease, as much as possible, the lives of those who suffer from Cerebral Palsy. This is no easy task.
One of the ways that CP can effect a person is in their ability to walk or maintain their balance. Many children with CP are confined to wheelchairs and are completely dependent on family, friends, or caregivers to move them from location to location. A lifetime of complete dependence on others awaits many of these kids.
I and my team at the One Step Closer Foundation want to give these children some freedom in their lives. We want to get them motorized wheelchairs. We know that we won’t be able to handle even a fraction of the need, but changing even one child’s life for the better is a noble challenge. Help us meet that challenge head on.
What We Need
We are hoping to raise $10,000 with the goal of providing at least four wheelchairs averaging $2,500 to deserving children with Cerebral Palsy. We will be relying on doctors, hospitals and physical therapists to help determine the children with the greatest needs.
Every dollar you contribute will go directly to the purchase of a motorized wheelchair for a child who has been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. If we exceed our financial goal of $10,000, each additional dollar will go to purchasing more wheelchairs for more children. If we do not meet our goal, each dollar raised will still go to the purchase of a motorized wheelchair for a child with CP.
It’s fairly easy. You contribute and together we give the gift of mobility to as many children with Cerebral Palsy as we can.
We Appreciate Your Contributions
We have a variety of perks for those who give to our campaign. We have funding opportunities listed at the side. Please note that many of these require you to be in Las Vegas on either June 27th or June 28th of this year. We will be having a charity event called Share a Chair at the VooDoo Zip Line at the Rio in Las Vegas. All proceeds from this event will go to The One Step Closer Foundation. We will also be having a celebrity charity event at Planet Hollywood on June 28th.
Please remember that every dollar counts and every dollar will go to purchasing a motorized wheelchair for a child with Cerebral Palsy.
The Impact
Being completely reliant on others for your movement can be trying on patients and their family members and caregivers. A motorized wheelchair gives a child freedom of movement and freedom to be more self reliant. It can give a child coping with Cerebral Palsy a tremendous emotional lift. Those raised spirits and positive outlooks are essential for children with CP to be able to have rich, full and rewarding lives.
Other Ways You Can Help
If you want to help with this cause but can’t contribute financially, please share the word about our campaign. You can find out more about us at onestepcloserfoundation.org or facebook.com/1scfnd.
We hope you can help us and spread the word to your friends and family.
