Shown with their 100th completed aluminum ramp project are volunteers (back row l-r) Bernie Miller, Sandy Wrightson, Dennis Roberts, Carroll Cooper, Bill Shrieves, Jim Richardson, Dwight Henry, AnnaBelle Adams, recipient; Ed Wienefeld and Rober Blaschke. In front are Rich Ritterman, Steve Friedberg and Mike Friedberg. DENNIS FORNEY PHOTOS
Members of the Bay Hundred Community Volunteers celebrated an epic milestone recently. The group installed a modular aluminum wheelchair ramp for the 100th time since switching from wooden ramps four years ago. The ramps allow individuals to get in and out of their homes under their own power. The group has been providing home repairs and building wheelchair ramps for Talbot County residents for more than 25 years.
“This has made me more independent,” said a happy Annabelle Adams. “Now I will be able to get in and out of my home, carry my own groceries in and out, by myself. I won’t have to call my family as much for help.”
The group of volunteers arrived at Adams’ St. Michaels home on Wednesday morning, Nov. 6, with pre-constructed sections of the aluminum ramp in the beds of their pick-up trucks. They wasted little time in laying out the pieces, consulting their paper plans for the project, buckling on their leather tool belts, and assembling the big erector set with wrenches and screwdrivers. With 99 of these already completed over the past four years, and well-lit by the bright sunshine of a glorious fall day, they finished the job with practiced efficiency.
And what’s a proper celebration without a slice of commemorative cake from Ruby’s in Easton to add to the sweetness of the occasion? Project complete, the volunteers with a smiling Adams among them, ate pizza and cake together.
Bill Shrieves presides over the Bay Hundred volunteers who construct these ramps for qualified individuals all over Talbot County. “This is a big celebration,” he said. “We built our first modular ramp on March 21, 2021 – a simple but important 15-foot ramp. That was right as the CoVid pandemic was raging. Since then we’ve done 99, not including today’s. One lady said she was going to rename her ramp her Road to Freedom. One man had not been out of his home for a year before we built his ramp.”
Shrieves mentioned another important health benefit from the increased mobility provided by the ramps. “It’s said that social isolation and loneliness are equivalent – in a negative health way – to two packs of cigarettes a day.”
The ramps can be disassembled and recycled for others’ use if circumstances change. They are paid for through donations and grants and come at no cost to their recipients. The volunteers, of course, provide labor and expertise for free.
“This makes me feel good,” said Robert Blaschke, one of four project leaders for the Bay Hundred organization. “It helps to give my life purpose.”
Sitting on a chair on her new ramp and enjoying her piece of cake, Adams – an 83-year-old native and resident of St. Michaels – expressed her gratitude:
“I never expected this, all these volunteers. I am blessed. And I hope Talbot County takes note of this. Senior citizens really do need help.”
Those interested in the work of the Bay Hundred Community Volunteers or wishing to donate to the cause can contact the organization by email at [email protected]; by mail via PO Box 12, McDaniel, Md. 21647; or by telephone at 410-745-9243. More information is available at the group’s website: www.bhcv.org.
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