A 40 ft sea container of 280 brand new wheelchairs was delivered to people in dire need of mobility in Ethiopia. There were tears of joy, gestures of thanks and a bridge between cultures was built by people from the Untied States to people in Ethiopia.

Drew Plotkin and his wife Carey Grange are connected by the heart to the people of Ethiopia. They adopted their daughter Zoe in Ethiopia when she was 4 months old.

Drew and his business partner Sam Najah have dedicated their time and talents to promote the mission of delivering wheelchairs to people in need through direct response television spots they have created. Their company Launch DRTV and many talented volunteers helped make the 280 wheelchair container to Ethiopia a reality, as a part of the Direct Response Industry’s ongoing wheelchair sponsorship project.

During a recent trip to Ethiopia, Carey and Drew brought along a videographer to cover their experiences and the hands-on delivery of wheelchairs in Addis Ababa. The footage from that wheelchair distribution has become a new television spot designed to raise funds for more wheelchairs to Ethiopia.

Carey is the daughter of Christian missionaries and grew up in Southeast Asia, seeing her share of the need that exists in the world. But seeing the tangible and immediate change a wheelchair had on the lives of children, teens and adults in Ethiopia was life changing for her. Carey said, “Everyone thinks about doing good in the world, but you can do something today by giving a person a wheelchair and change their life immediately. Why not make today that day?”

Drew tells the story of a ten year old named Yohannes who could now go to school to study computer science in his new wheelchair, and how it would change the lives of his entire family. Drew said, “This television spot shows joy and hope that life is going to be better for these people, and every member of their family.” Drew continued, “We are just doing something that is in our hearts and we think we can leave the world a little better for it.”

The American Wheelchair Mission is dedicated to touching and improving the lives of families in need of mobility around the world, and people like Carey, Drew, Sam and all of our supporters in the direct response industry are helping to make that all possible.