CANTON, Bradford County — Scarlett Dawson comfortably sits in her new adaptive stroller. Before getting her new set of wheels, it was hard for her family to take her places in her wheelchair.
"She's not able to actually get on the grass with her peers or go on walks with her peers or even do field trips without having some struggles with her wheelchair, either taking off her tilt and space and just completely laying her backwards just to walk," said Saphire Dawson, Scarlett's mother.
Dawson says the stroller will allow the family to visit more places, such as lakes and parks.
"She wants to go fishing, but then we're going to go on a whole bunch of adventures this summer, and maybe even go just to more adventurous parks like the Turkey Trail and even just walking around in the forests and everything, which will be great. She loves nature."
The strollers were donated by Variety the Children’s Charity and BLaST Intermediate Unit 17. The nonprofits teamed up to provide free adaptive strollers and bikes to five kids living with special needs from Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, and Tioga Counties.
All of the strollers are customized for the specific needs of each child.
"170 pieces of life-changing adaptive equipment have been provided to kids and families right here in these four counties, which is wonderful. That's $250,000-plus in equipment right here in these four counties. That has made a big difference for families and, hopefully, made the world a little more accessible," said Tom Baker, CEO at Variety the Children’s Charity.
Staff from both organizations say it brings them a lot of joy to see families come together when they receive an adaptive bike or stroller.
"We see the families here today, the children here today. They're excited. They get to pick their colors. They already have plans of when they're going to ride their bikes," said Christina Steinbacher-Reed, executive director at BLaST IU 17.
"Sometimes at presentations, you'll see a child that has eight, or nine, or ten family members there just because they're so excited to see their sibling, their relative on a bike for the first time," said Baker.
The Variety the Children’s Charity organization also provides free adaptive bikes and communication devices for kids in need. Families can find out more information on how to apply for adaptive equipment or communication devices HERE.