A Marine Corps veteran in San Diego is now able to get around easier thanks to a company’s partnership with another organization.
Corporal Nick Voss was ecstatic when he was given the special chair from a company called Bird that had partnered with Easterseals Southern California (ESSC), CBS 8 reported Thursday.
The presentation happened at the U.S.S. Midway and video footage showed Voss trying out the chair in a grassy area:
“You know, these electric wheelchairs are a lot easier than the manual wheelchairs, especially kind of just on the strain of the body. Accessibility, where you can and can’t go,” Voss said.
“Even small things like being able to go on longer walks with friends or go down to the beach or, you know, or get somewhere and back. Even going uphill and not be super strained from it,” he added.
Voss joined the Marines in 2016. After deployment, he suffered a spinal injury during a helicopter accident. Voss spent a long time in rehabilitation before moving into transitional housing.
At first, it was difficult for him to ask for help, “but this kind of thing provides me the independence to put it in the car and take it out of the car and not have to have someone push me through something,” he commented.
In a social media post on Friday, Bird thanked ESSC for helping with the project:
“We are happy to offer this token of appreciation to Marine Corps veteran Nick Voss for his service,” said Blanca Laborde, Director of Government Partnerships at the company.
“Bird is committed to improving environmentally friendly mobility access for everyone and partnering with Easterseals Southern California has helped us march toward that goal,” Laborde added.
Voss currently works with ESSC’s Bob Hope Veterans Support Program offering employment services to military members and veterans transitioning back into civilian work.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.