Volunteers build wheelchair ramp for Worcester Co. woman

NEWARK, Md. – Several groups throughout Worcester County came on Wednesday to help one woman in need, but those groups say that this is about a lot more than just one day of helping.

“I did not know what to expect when I got here, I knew we were building a ramp,” Jennifer Sills with Worcester County Public Schools said.

Building that ramp meant all hands had to be on deck. So volunteers from Worcester County Schools and Chesapeake Housing Mission brought together their tools and supplies and got to work.

“We’ve been doing everything from digging holes, and drilling down into our little ditches for the posts, and putting down the deck boards on the ramp,” Sills said.

With the house empty, volunteers worked knowing that what they did – the cutting, hammering, and drilling, was special and would make a real difference in the homeowners life.

“This idea of the wheelchair ramp will be able to allow her to go to the grocery store, go to church, really be outside of her home, versus she felt really secluded in the home with just the stairs,” Jess McInerney, with Worcester County Public Schools, said.

But the project isn’t all about one wheelchair ramp or one community member, it’s about setting an example.

“In our school system we ask our young people to do service, and we also want to show our young people that, as adults, service does not stop,” Lou Taylor, Worcester County Superintendent, said.

It was an example of what exactly it means to be part of a community.

“I think there’s just a common goal of working together as one neighborhood, as one united community, and everybody taking part,” Sills said.

So with one wheelchair ramp completed, those volunteers say they’re not stopping anytime soon.

“I’m hoping that this is just the first of many because it’s wonderful for us to be out here and working together and helping our neighborhoods, and then also, again, being role models for our students,” Sills said.