When I want to go to the store, I load up my service dog and away I go. When I go to church, I just walk out the door to my townhome’s parking place and get in my old car and drive safely to the place I call my church home. Whenever I need to go somewhere, I have a reliable way to get there. My orange, small Caliber is old with lots of miles on it, but it runs and it is reliable. I am grateful for that.

A good friend of mine, Cara, does not have reliable transportation. She cannot get in my Caliber. You see Cara not only has a service dog, (and Tank is a handsome, helpful boy), she is also in a scooter. She has an old accessible van with over 150,000 miles on it and sometimes the lift does not work. Many times Cara must lift the base of the scooter lift to get it to go all the way into the van. She is currently in a contest with many other wonderful people, with the National Mobility Awareness Month. An accessible van will be given to the registered participant with the most votes… and you can vote DAILY.

Because there are so many people in the contest who are worthy – I’m quite sure – I wanted to let you know why I think Cara deserves to win. After reading my story, I hope you will vote (a simple process), and do so daily. I hope you will encourage others to vote, and share the link through email, FaceBook, Twitter, etc.

Cara is a person with disabilities but is in no way disabled. She has MS and Interstitial Lung Fibrosis. She recently lost her special needs son, Justin to an undiagnosed heart condition. Cara is now on permanent disability. But… Cara volunteers more than most able-bodied people. She is a coach of a special Olympics team. She does the Polar Bear Plunge for Special Olympics. She volunteers for Fidos For Freedom, Inc., and is an unpaid staff person. She mentors new people to the service dog organization. Cara works hard. She just doesn’t get paid. She does, however, receive a lot of joy and finds a sense of purpose in what she does. Cara has people who need her. People who count on her.

Cara only wants reliable transportation. She requests your vote. I request your vote on her behalf! There is no one more worthy. Let’s help her continue to be able to volunteer and serve in her community. Let’s help her not have to worry about how she will get to the grocery story, doctor’s offices, or pharmacy. I hope you will help. A one time registration takes less than two minutes. Then it takes 30 seconds a day to vote. Hate junk mail? Me too! Be sure to click the box “OFF” for being willing to receive emails from the organization. I don’t blame you! I do it every day myself as I don’t need more email in my Inbox.

This will mean so much to Cara if she wins. Can you do your part? 30 seconds a day? Please read her very special story at this link:

CLICK HERE

Will you share her story with others? The contest ends soon! Thank you in advance!

Denise Portis