BC Ferries, Angel Accessibility and Houle Electric worked together to address accessibility challenges for the Cholette family of Cloverdale, B.C. The family set up a crowd funding site for donations to purchase a stair lift so their son, Jack, who has a rare genetic condition requiring the use of a wheelchair, could be easily transported up the stairs to the main living area of their home. A BC Ferries’ employee heard about the family and thought of an unused stair lift that had been removed following the completion of an elevator project at Horseshoe Bay terminal.
As the stair lift was not being used or required at another terminal, BC Ferries donated it to the family. Angel Accessibility donated their time and labor to complete the installation and Houle Electric donated time to complete the electrical work for the installation. Several BC Ferries’ Terminal Maintenance employees also donated time to help with the installation.
“All the volunteers did an amazing job,” said Hope Cholette, mother of Jack. “All of them, just to help a little boy. I will never be able to thank them enough. I keep telling Jack how lucky he is, to have all these people who want to help him, complete strangers who love him.”
“This project is an example of what can be accomplished when we work together and support the communities we serve,” said Corrine Storey, BC Ferries’ vice president of customer services. “BC Ferries was not only able to repurpose a piece of equipment that was no longer needed, we were able to help this family and make it easier for them to be together in their home.”
“Angel is proud to be working with great partners to help overcome the mobility challenges of the Cholette family,” said Chris Swift, Angel Accessibility’s vice president of operations. “Watching this come together has been really inspirational and we could not think of a better way to use this equipment.”
“We at Houle are happy and honored to have contributed to this great partnership with BC Ferries and Angel Accessibility to provide this small measure of safety and convenience for Jack and the Cholette family,” said Allan Lanzador, marketing manager at Houle. “As a B.C.-based business that started in 1944, Houle is always ready to give back in any way we can to this strong and vibrant community that has supported our growth these many years.”
After a few weeks of coordination between BC Ferries, Angel Accessibility and Houle Electric, the stair lift is now installed in the Cholette family’s home and is being used by their son. A lunch event was held to celebrate this happy occasion.
This project falls under BC Ferries’ community well-being pillar of its SeaForward program, which brings existing environmental activities, conservation projects, community investments and new sustainability endeavors together under a single program.
