A former Platte City business owner continues an effort to raise funding to help purchase a “tank chair” to benefit Platte County residents with ambulatory disabilities.
Bo Woodruff is heading an effort to qualify for a grant and raise the necessary portion of funds to partner with the Platte County Parks and Recreation Department to obtain the motorized wheelchair and an accompanying trailer for transport. A tank chair consists of a high-quality racing seat on a base surrounded by a pair of triangular all-terrain tracks.
The tank chair is designed to give disabled individuals access to hard to reach places.
The Missouri Department of Conservation operates a number of the chairs in other regions of Missouri to assist with specialized hunts for disabled individuals. This could be used for that purpose or others on an availability basis.
The plan calls to give priority use to disabled veterans but would be available to any disabled citizen of Platte County.
Woodruff has been taking a borrowed tank chair around to area businesses for the past few weeks in an effort to collect money toward an $11,000 goal to help make the purchase. If he can qualify, the parks and recreation grant would take care of the other half of the nearly $22,000 cost.
According to Woodruff, about 20 percent of the private goal had been met as of late last week. Individuals can make a tax-exempt donation to the cause at www.amvets181.com. For more information, contact Woodruff at (816) 308-7692.