When life has been good to you, do good for others, says Cliff Steele, a 93-year-old 黑马磁力 war veteran who is one of the busiest seniors in town and is looking to make himself even busier 鈥� with the public鈥檚 help.
For the past five years, Steele has been quietly buying used scooters and electric wheelchairs and fixing them up to give to people in need, for free, no strings attached.
鈥淚 refurbish them and give them to people who need them. It鈥檚 a free service I鈥檝e been offering and I鈥檝e given away around 20 of them,鈥� said Steele, who works out of his garage.
While he was doing this strictly through word of mouth, he recently got in touch with the United Way and since then, the demand for scooters has exploded, he said.
鈥淚n the last six weeks there is an enormous demand so the demand has outstripped the supply. I need some product,鈥� said Steele. He鈥檚 hoping people will donate their unused scooters. He鈥檚 also interested in buying 鈥� at the right price.
鈥淚鈥檇 say I鈥檝e bought about 50 per cent of them so far.
鈥淭hey come from as far as California, Saskatoon,鈥� he said.
With a background in mechanics, refurbishing scooters and electric wheelchairs is a hobby and pleasure.
He is able to refurbish up to three scooters a day, if given the product, he said.
Not only does he give the scooters away but he also does all the maintenance on them for free for the duration of the equipment鈥檚 existence.
With 20 already given away, he is in regular contact with most of the people who own the scooters now.
鈥淎 lot of these people were housebound before, and they get a new life when they get a scooter,鈥� he said.
鈥淭hey are always very grateful. I鈥檝e only had one casualty.鈥�
Out of the 20 he鈥檚 given away, one was taken by a drug addict, who sold it.
The cost of a new electric wheelchair can run upwards of $5,000. A new scooter can cost $3,000.
It鈥檚 often a price tag seniors or people with disabilities can鈥檛 afford.
United Way鈥檚 Bev Pitman agrees.
鈥淢y job connects me with seniors and I can tell you it鈥檚 an expense that is outside of reach, and yet a scooter can mean the difference between being a shut-in and getting out,鈥� said Pitman, who has been working with Steele.
鈥淗e鈥檚 doing such a wonderful thing.鈥�
Steele doesn鈥檛 believe in taking too much credit for it.
鈥淢y philosophy has always been 鈥榠t鈥檚 better to give than to receive.鈥�
He said many scooters just need new batteries and he鈥檚 worked out a deal with Interstate Batteries which has been very good to him, he said.
Ironically, he has been outfitted with an electric wheelchair himself, with his occupational therapist recommending he use it.
So far, it isn鈥檛 getting a lot of use, as the spry senior still walks most of his day and when the weather gets good he鈥檒l be back on the golf course three times a week.
If you have a scooter or electric wheelchair that needs some work and you are willing to part with or sell, give Cliff a call at 604-530-1272.
