Community Steps Up

Aaron D’Errico and his new scooter – Tim Dustrude photo

I had a very heartwarming conversation with Aaron D’Errico yesterday, and I came away from it thinking “this is what community is all about“.

Aaron lives with Cerebral Palsy and you may remember in 2011, he was hit by a truck as he was crossing Spring Street on his scooter. A head injury from that accident left him unable to work and without a means of getting around. He got ahold of a used scooter from Marketplace and with the help of his step-dad, they were able to “MacGyver it” to get it running, but it didn’t last long.

After that he picked up a used one from his friend Ben Duncan whose family wasn’t using it anymore, but it was not intended to be used outdoors in rain, and this ain’t Arizona. So that one became undependable really quickly.

Fast forward to this year and another good friend of his, Winter Rose Seibert learned of his predicament and that he had applied multiple times to various programs and organizations with no luck. So she started a GoFundMe account and next thing you know – 2 weeks later Aaron has a new ride.

Aaron says “It’s more than just a scooter. It’s a positive reminder of the good in the world. This town really knows how to show their love – and I want everyone to know how much I appreciate them.”

A LOT of people came together to make this happen. Here’s a list of them, in Aaron’s own words from his recent Facebook post thanking everyone:

To all the good hearted people of FRIDAY HARBOR and beyond, thank you: Winter Rose, Michael Seibert, John and Cindy Gauthier, Gordon Elliott, Sam and Jane Buck, Anna Anderson, Sophie Jane, Terese and Brian Prescott, Juniper Maas Mercer, Margaret Bell, June Hart, David Giest, Bob and Mary Elford, Quinn Gillespie, Laura Chorba-McKee, Colin Blevins, Jim and Lisa Nash Lawrence, Evelyn Lee Mrowka, Larry Mrowka, Stephanie Picconii, Robert and Jessica Dickson, Krispi and Craig Staude, Rene Beachem, Nathan Ross, Christine Gabler-Minney and Patrick Minney, John S. Sinclair, Paul Ahart, Sue Schindele, Nadine Hall, Beth Spadafora, Allie Stelzner, Kelly Snow, Ivan Reiff, Doug M, Kari K, Jill Hopkins, Dan and Amber Krug, Dennis Foote, Mark Madsen, Alisabeth Concord, Patricia and Ron Lehman, Donna Pritchard, S &P Campbell, Leslie Smith, Andy and Amber Anderson, Venita Iveson, Anne Sheridan, James Duke, Alvarado Marine and everyone who also anonymously contributed to my new scooter. It really helps in day-to-day life.

Also, thank you to Mary and Joanne at Kings Market, as well as Jose Ayala who went out of his way to help me at the store yesterday. There are a lot of “angels” in this town.
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#‎Grateful‬

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