Our Mailing Address is: Veterans Mobility Corp - P.O. Box 446 - Ucon, ID 83454-0446

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Organized on Valentines Day, 2015, Veterans Mobility was formed to provide power wheelchairs to Veterans, Spouses, and Children of veterans.  We continue to collect donated, discarded, or abandoned power wheelchairs and scooters. then, refurbish them to as new condition as possible then give them free to Veterans and their families.

Each chair we've delivered has a story, and each of those stories has a happy ending. The joy we see in the faces we see when we deliver newfound mobility is tremendous! 

Veterans Mobility Corp (VMC) operates totally on grants, donations and volunteer labor. Our organization picks up donated power wheelchairs, many in very bad condition; we dissemble them, repair any worn or damaged upholstery and structural components, replace non-repairable parts, install new batteries, reassemble, paint and re-upholster, if required.

Upon completion, the chairs are tested, fitted to the recipient, double checked for safety and then delivered to the new owner.

To date, we have processed and delivered 256 power wheelchairs. The majority of these chairs are in the Southeast Idaho area, although we have sent one to Virginia, one to Wisconsin, and six to California, five to northern Utah and one to Yuma, Arizona.

We have 256 stories to go with the 256 power wheelchairs we’ve given, some stories sad and heart- breaking but everyone has a happy ending. They range from the Vietnam Veteran on the front of our brochure who had a leg amputated at EIRMC because of complications caused by Agent Orange. EIRMC called us because he was a Veteran headed home to American Falls the next day. He needed a power chair because of partial paralysis on his left side, only manual chairs were available. When he arrived home the next day, we were there, waiting for him, with a newly refurbished Jazzy power chair. To the 9 year old daughter of Navy Veterans who contracted a rare disease when her parents were stationed in Africa. The girl with her large pink teddy bear (donated by Toys for Tots) are doing fine. We are currently constructing a very special chair for an 18 year old daughter of another Navy Veteran who was born with no arms or legs. The chair has a platform on the back for Mom, with controls, and can be operated by the girl’s head movements. Veterans too, one local Vet was with Pappy Boyington and another served with General Patton, both in WWII, another on our brochure, lost his leg and suffers from toxic exposure in the Gulf War.There are stories too when we pick-up the chairs, always about the previous occupant of the chair, and the role the chair played in their lives. The fellow who got us started by donating his father’s chair (father was awarded a Bronze Star in Korea) who wanted the chair to go to another Veteran. We got the chair in boxes so we learned from it how to work on power wheelchairs.  We color matched the chair to a Vietnam era HUEY helicopter, stenciled the wheel fenders to look like a Vietnam era Jeep, and had the Vietnam combat ribbon embroidered into the head rest. We gave the chair to a Veteran in the Pocatello Veterans Home, a brown water Navy Seal who took a bullet in the back that put him in a chair and later had a stroke that left his right side paralyzed. His caregiver said she had known him six years and never saw him smile, now he’s not stopped smiling since we gave him the chair.  A therapist at the Veterans Home in Pocatello once told us, “You are not just giving people mobility you’re giving them back a life”. We see this with every chair we deliver.

The average cost of refurbishing a chair is $550 - $1,500, some run has high as $2,500 - $3,000. All our labor is donated, there are no salaries or administrative costs. Even the majority of transportation costs are donated. Batteries, chargers, and controllers are the high cost items. Batteries + Bulbs in Idaho Falls has given us a discount since our beginning, however batteries are specialized and therefore quite expensive. Our organization has a growing list of helpful businesses in the Idaho Falls area providing services we are unable to do free of charge. They include: DeeRay’s Autobody in Shelly (body work, paint),  Walkers Upholstery in Basalt, Carter Upholstery in Pocatello, Miller Metal Works in Idaho Falls (welding, metal work), Autobody Paint and Supply in Idaho Falls,  Ace Hardware in Shelly (cleaning supplies, small hardware) CV World in Idaho Falls, (electronics, programming, and electrical repair).

Happy Mom can now see her boys play soccer with new scooter.


Even on a cold winter day the receipt of a power scooter can make one smile.

 We also have help from members of Vietnam Veterans of America, both Idaho Falls, and Pocatello, members of various church and social groups in Idaho Falls, and citizens who just want to help. The American Legion Department of Idaho, Idaho Falls Elks Lodge, Eagles Lodge, Knights of Columbus, Idaho State Veterans Services, and Idaho Falls Elks Lodge has helped us financially.

Since we started the VMC, we have operated in donated space, usually provided until it is sold, rented or needed by the owner, then we must find a new location. We have relocated seven times since the beginning. Our growth has been rapid and we are now in possession of over 250 power wheelchairs and 20 power scooters plus a lot of repair equipment lift platforms and parts. It has become a tremendous effort to move our operation again and again. We have located a permanent new home in Ucon, Idaho. The building is in need of repair before occupancy. We have already done considerable work including repairs, modifications and replacing all the window glass. Other major repairs are in progress.

 

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