OUR TURN: Time to ramp up to project

A caring and civilized society looks after the less-fortunate and the physically challenged, rather than leaving them to the vicissitudes of nature and time.

Often in such a setting we look to government to pick up the pieces, but this isn’t always possible — or advantageous, especially if there are strings attached.

Still, the needs of the handicapped must be met, for they have a right to as much freedom and attainable mobility as any member of a community.

And so it falls to the community to help the disabled regain that sense of freedom, to allow them to connect once again with neighbors and friends.

Which is why initiatives such as the Texas Ramp Project are so important.

Several residents, many of them affiliated with the First United Methodist Church of Marble Falls, are trying to get a chapter started here.

There is no reason why the community can’t rally behind the effort and volunteer to help out.

The ramps in and out of dwellings, built for free by volunteers, help give the wheelchair-bound more access to the world around them.

Already Ben Redler and several men from FUMC have built two ramps for free in the area for people who need them, operating through the Austin chapter of the Texas Ramp Project.

They believe a ramp unit in the Highland Lakes could get enough projects to keep them busy for years.

According to John Laine of the Texas Ramp Project, the need for ramps is "pretty staggering."

The Texas Ramp Project started in 1985 through the Kiwanis Club of Richardson. Club members began building access ramps at the homes of Dallas-area disabled residents who couldn’t afford one.

But as word spread about the program, the need grew as well across Texas.

Soon the Dallas Ramp Project became the Texas Ramp Project.

Volunteers with the program have built 1,199 ramps.

For those who need the ramps, it means freedom and independence.

Otherwise, without the ramps, they can feel trapped in their homes.

The volunteers only ask that you give up an occasional weekend to help out a deserving soul.

As the Texas Ramp Project motto says, "What are you doing this Saturday?"

Along with the modular construction and other methods that streamline a project, Laine said over the years he’s found it works best to schedule the work on the same day each month.

There are plenty of caring community members who have the wherewithal and the heart to to help out.

To learn more, call Redler at (830) 613-0755 or e-mail redler@281.com.

You can also check out www.texasramps.org.

It’s time to ramp up to a project that helps others.