The Handi-Capables of Sun City have generously offered to donate a chair
lift for the pool at Recreation Centers of Sun City, Inc.’s Sundial
Recreation Center. The Handi-Capables, an RCSC chartered club,
approached RCSC with a proposal for the club to supply the lift if RCSC
would install and maintain the device. With the help of Altrusa
International of the Sun Cities, which offered a challenge to match
every dollar donated up to $500, the Handi-Capables raised over $4,000
and recently purchased the lift. It will be installed before Sundial
Center reopens.
The pool at Fairway
Recreation Center is currently the only RCSC pool equipped with a chair
lift, although both Sundial pools have ramps for entry into the pool.
According to Margaret Fairfield, President of the Handi-Capables Club,
the chair lifts are helpful because they can often better serve the
needs of those in wheelchairs. “The ramps at Sundial are wonderful, but
for someone who is in a wheelchair, it can be difficult to push them
back up the ramp due to the added water weight,” she explained. “We felt
that a chair lift would be an appropriate addition.”
According to Mrs. Fairfield
the Handi-Capables had long discussed the possibility of having a chair
lift at Sundial even before the roof failed, and in October 2007 the
club again approached RCSC with the chair lift proposal. “We sent a
letter to [RCSC Assistant General Manager] Jim Wellman saying we would
pay for the chair lift,” Mrs. Fairfield said, “and RCSC agreed to the
plan.”
The Handi-Capables and RCSC
management researched several options for the pool lift and club members
visited rehabilitation centers to learn more about the options
available. Together the club and RCSC found the best solution. The lift
has been purchased and will be installed before the center reopens.
“We’ve developed a good
working relationship with Jim and the RCSC Board,” said Mrs. Fairfield.
“RCSC has been very good to the Handi-Capables Club.”
“RCSC’s chartered clubs are
a key element of our community,” said Denny Nichols, President of the
RCSC Board of Directors, “and the Handi-Capables Club provides a very
valuable service to the community. We were happy to work with them to
bring this amenity to Sundial, and thank the club members and the
community for their efforts.”
Mrs. Fairfield reports that
the club has had a wonderful response from the community. The club has
raised the entire $4,000 required for the project, as well as some
additional funds that will be used to purchase equipment to be used in
the Sundial therapy pool once it reopens. The club is very grateful to
Altrusa International of the Sun Cities, which issued a challenge to the
club: the organization pledged to match every dollar donated for the
project up to $500. Altrusa presented the Handi-Capables with a check at
the club’s February meeting.
Mrs.
Fairfield noted that the fundraising project has served as a unifying
force for the club, which is open to RCSC cardholders with physical
limitations as well as their caregivers and other volunteers. “The club
needed something to pull the group together and build self-esteem,” she
said. “Our members feel better about themselves when they’re involved,
and they’ve really gotten involved in this project.”
Contact: Lindsay Frost, RCSC Communications Coordinator
(623) 876-3060, ext. 3087;
