[May 25, 2014]

Local Family in Need Receives $5000 from ASC: Allows Family to Travel Together and Fund Universally-Accessible MV-1 Van

ASC (News - Alert) announced today that it presented the Baker Family of Troy with a check for $5000 and a Q-straint system for their new universally-accessible MV-1 van. The MV-1 is the only American-built vehicle specifically designed from the ground up to meet or exceed the needs of wheelchair passengers and Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines. The money was raised through a company-wide fundraiser after the ASC team learned about the challenges facing the Baker family. ASC provides the ramp for the MV-1, which is built by Mobility Ventures, LLC.

13-year-old Jarrod has cerebral palsy as well as seizure, vision and hearing challenges that require 24-hour care. For Angela and Gerald Baker, this meant lifting him in and out of an adaptive car seat and then putting his wheelchair in the rear of the vehicle whenever they went for a drive, something only Gerald could do.

This spring, the family received funds to make the down payment and acquire the MV-1. But they still faced challenges. Angela's mother is paralyzed and also in a wheelchair, making it impossible to transport her and Jarrod at the same time.

"The MV-1 has a device called a Q-Straint which allows you to secure two wheelchairs, so we could travel with Jarrod and his grandmother together," says Angela. "The van was designed based on input from the disbled community, so with the Q-straint we can now travel easily, safely and comfortably as a family."

"When we learned about the Bakers from Channel 4's story, we immediately knew we had to help them," said Joe Bione, President and CEO for ASC. "On top of caring for her family, Angela works as a special education teacher and volunteers to help the homeless. We felt we needed to get involved in helping her."

Sam Schira, an ASC employee, initiated a company-wide fundraising campaign that was matched by ASC and the Whitehall Group. The company installed the Q-Straint in the Baker's MV-1 and provided the remaining funds to offset car payments, insurance and gas.

"We can now take the whole family out, something we haven't been able to do," said Angela. "We can't thank Sam and everyone at ASC enough for making this possible."

If you'd like to help the Baker family, please visit http://www.gofundme.com/6gks5s.

ASC is known worldwide as one of America's most experienced independent transportation design firms. From design, prototyping, concept build, manufacturing and marketing, ASC is a major OEM player in specialty car systems. Founded in 1965, ASC Headquarters, design studio and engineering center are in suburban Detroit, Michigan with manufacturing and assembly plant operations in Lexington, Kentucky. For more information, visit ASC at http://www.ascglobal.com/.

Mobility Ventures LLC is an industry innovator in purpose-built wheelchair accessible vehicles for public and private transportation providing automotive design, engineering, marketing, sales, and customer service support. Mobility Ventures LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of AM General LLC. For more information, visit Mobility Ventures LLC at www.mv-1.us.

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