A grandpa is thankful his granddaughter received a Mobility Cart

By technologists

Maker of the Mobility Cart since 1994.
Thank you for your interest and support this past year!!
Give the Gift of Mobility, Dignity, and Opportunity!
Mobility Worldwide MO-Columba Update 11/21/17

Thanksgiving has been a part of my life since as soon as I could talk. When I was just a little tad and someone would give me something or pay me a compliment, my Mother said, “Say thank you, Melvin.” And I did.

When I was older she reminded me with “that look”, if I did not. When I could write, some of the “thank yous” were changed to handwritten notes put into the mail with stamps we could ill afford. I was trained in civility. If someone gives you something, or pays you a compliment, express gratitude in the appropriate way. A part of that way was to never return an empty plate. If someone brings you a cake on a plate, do not send the plate back empty. Send it back with cookies on it. Sometimes it was a half-dozen eggs, for that was all we had. I was trained in civility.

As an adult I’ve written thousands upon thousands of thank-ful letters to donors to mission projects in which we shared. This year I’ve written an average of fifteen to mobility donors each week. I try to tell the donors how their gift improved the life of another sister or brother on this Earth. To not thank folks is to send the gift plate home empty.

Here is a Thanksgiving story: A writer from Kansas went along to distribute Mobility Carts in Honduras. A grandfather brought his badly leg-handicapped grand-daughter to receive one. While they were waiting, he disappeared for a half hour and came back with a bag of fresh cucumber from his garden. When he saw the magnitude of the gift his grand-daughter, Guduriape, was to receive, he could not “return an empty plate”.

He, like I, had been trained in civility.
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“It appears to me that culture, which brings luxury and selfishness with it, has a tendency to weaken rather than promote gratitude.” by Samuel Johnson, 1779
Mel West, Director Emeritus

PS I have been on the receiving end of many of Mel’s thank yous over eighteen years, which also served as an example for my work with the Mobility Worldwide mission. I’ve also seen him give thanks to many others like a volunteer leaving the shop for the day. Mel, thank you for starting this amazing and much needed mobility organization for which over 67,000 persons have had their lives changed dramatically.

Kathy Maynard, Business Administrator
DBA Mobility Worldwide MO – Columbia