Imagine being trapped indoors by a drop of just a couple of feet.
Imagine an injury, infirmity, illness that turns the front steps into a life-threatening obstacle.
Imagine a loved one, a child or elderly relative, stuck in the home because their wheelchair, cane, or unsteady feet put the world outside beyond reach.
The solution could be as simple as a few hundred dollars, a few hours of work, a few volunteers pitching in to rescue their neighbor from isolation.
“It’s just one of those things that’s a labor of love,” Leon Word says.
He’s lost track of how many ramps he’s helped craft over the years.
“Probably close to 100,” Word muses, the bulk of them in Gladewater and Big Sandy. Between the Texas Ramp Project and Gladewater Rotary Club, there are plenty of opportunities to pitch in, and Word’s always eager to pass on the necessary skills to another volunteer.
The next chance to help out is coming up Sept. 27. Another local has found themselves on the wrong side of their front steps, and a wooden ramp will make all the difference.
[TOP: Gladewater Rotarians (from left) Leon Word, Sam Cloud and Nathan Burkhalter assemble ramp modules Sept. 11, getting ready for this weekend’s local build in partnership with Texas Ramp Project.]
According to the Texas Ramp Project, more than 1.7 million Texans find themselves imprisoned by mobility issues. Most are older adults, and many are unable to afford safe access to their homes.
This year, the nonprofit is celebrating its 40th anniversary and marking more than 30,000 ramps built for free for Texans in need.
“I went to the state convention last year, and you’re always learning new tips and things to do to make it more efficient,” Word says. He’s steadily refined the local process, working with his fellow Rotarians to assemble ramp modules well ahead of their project days. “If I can get the help and pre-schedule the date we’re going to build it, I can get the lumber and pre-cut it.”
It’s not unlike the floor joist on a pier and beam house.
“The modules we build are 4 wide, 8 long, 4×4. Some of the have a 5-degree cut because of the angle – the ADA specs call for one inch per footfall; that’s a 5-degree angle.”
Beyond the pre-assembly, the other key task is assembling a team.
Gladewater Rotary Club President Sam Cloud (left) welcomes District 5830 Governor Damon Donnell and Assistant Governor Donna Koerner as the local group’s featured guests Sept. 18. (Mirror photo by Darla Ferguson)
“This is all volunteer help, so I have to coordinate building a ramp when I have enough help,” Word explained. “A six-member team is good, and anyone else is just icing on the cake.”
Right before the project, all the materials are packaged into a kit and strapped to a trailer.
“You get there and lay it out then you get busy putting it together. It’s not simple and easy, but in your mind it’s simple and easy,” Word says, lasting just three hours. Only the temperature slows things down – for water breaks. “When it’s cool weather we just get in there and get it over with.
“We started painting our plywood deck before we take it to the job; that makes it where the cub scout crew doesn’t have to come in later and paint. It looks good when you’re finished.”
A short ramp runs $300 or $400; a long one, between $500 and $600.
Importantly, no costs are passed on to recipients.
Not a penny, Word says: “That’s what Texas Ramps is about. We get our building material money from grants and donations and wherever people can donate.”
Some of the largest sponsors, like Toyota, field build teams as well.
There are recipients who insist on helping out, of course.
“It’s passing it forward… Everybody loves helping, one way or another, even the referral recipients. It’s just a good thing. It really is. It’s very efficient. It’s very heartwarming.”
It’s changing lives.
“When you go out and site-survey a ramp referral, the people actually start crying because they know it’s going to enhance their life, get them out of their house. It nothing else, they can go check the mail or get out in the flower bed.”
It’s a natural outreach for Rotary, Word added, a service organization focused on improving the community by giving people access to a better life.
“It’s just something that I love doing,” he said. “Everybody on my team, I can honestly say, love to build a ramp for someone to enhance their life.
“It’s wonderful. It is.”
To volunteer or make a donation, visit TexasRamps.org