2006 Dallas Morning News
Robert Miller writes about local business for The Dallas Morning News.
Ramp project takes good deeds across Texas
12:00 AM CST on Sunday, November 5, 2006
If you ever wonder whether one person can really make a difference, just remember John Laine and his Texas Ramp Project.
In 1989, Mr. Laine, a manufacturer's representative for aerospace hardware, "was looking for a way to get involved in the community."
Opportunity was right before his eyes. He was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Richardson, which had started a program to build access ramps for residents of Dallas and its suburbs in 1985.
During its first five years, the club had built about 20 ramps.
"In 1989, we started to wonder about the actual need for this service in our area and visited hospitals, rehab centers and other places that might deal with handicapped people.
"What we discovered was that ramps were a very hard thing to get and that they can be quite expensive." Mr. Laine says that bids from construction companies "will be three, probably four, times our cost."
That led Mr. Laine and his associates to start looking for ways to produce more free wheelchair ramps for needy residents. They found a warehouse near Simonton Road west of the Galleria that donated space and negotiated with a truck rental company for a discounted rate.
"As we grew, it became apparent that we needed to involve many more organizations that could help us to fund the project and to provide volunteers," Mr. Laine said.
"We now work as an independent nonprofit 501(c)3 organization with connections to many other groups [such as] civic organizations, churches, high schools and colleges, alumni organizations, area businesses and medical centers.
"We now build more ramps per month than we did in total for our first five years." There is no government agency that offers such a service, Mr. Laine said.
The Dallas Ramp Project, which serves much of North Central Texas, has built nearly 2,000 ramps. Now Mr. Laine is working hard on the Texas Ramp Project.
"We're already in Houston, San Antonio, which I visited again last Monday, Austin and probably in Fort Worth this month. This year I am working full time but still a volunteer."
Keeping it local
While the Texas Ramp Project continues to grow, it's structured so that each city operates as a local organization.
Each city ramp project has its own board and also has a representative on the board of the Texas Ramp Project.
There are three ingredients that drive each local organization. They are:
• A skilled team leader who teaches the volunteers how to build a ramp.
• Volunteers. Dallas volunteers have come from Electronic Data Systems Corp., Levi Strauss, Raytheon Co., Allstate Insurance, Chase Bank, Data Specialists, Control Point Solutions, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc., Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and others.
• Money. The demand continues to grow as the need grows. The local budget is around $5,000 a month and soon will grow to $6,500.
Mr. Laine's church, the King of Glory Lutheran Church, "gives us roughly 30 percent of our budget. And General Electric has also pitched in," he said.
Building a ramp is not rocket science. Mr. Laine said he's no Mr. Fixit, but he has learned that there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all wheelchair ramp.
Each ramp must be a foot long for each inch of elevation, for example, so each project has its own measurements. Even so, it's the perfect endeavor for an unskilled volunteer.
"During the week, we build modules at night so that the complete modules, built to three different configurations, are ready for our Saturday volunteers," he said.
"On Saturdays, we assign teams of volunteers to a particular team leader and give them our work list for that day. We try to add one of our regular volunteers to the team so that we can train as we build, with the volunteers taking a very active role in construction."
It only takes one job to hook the volunteers, he said.
"After we have had a volunteer for one ramp, they will have become very familiar with our process and know that their presence was needed. That is an important part of the satisfaction that they will feel upon completion of the work."
His calling
There's always a need for team leaders. It took the Dallas Ramp Project 20 years to reach its present potential. With that foundation, Mr. Laine says he hopes to cut the path to maturity for other Texas projects to three years.
And the focus is on the future: 9 percent of the population is over 65, and that number is expected to double in 20 years.
Meanwhile, representatives from local and state agencies that help the elderly are effusive in their praise of the Texas Ramp Project.
Typical is Harriet McGraw, interim manager of the city of Dallas' People Helping People program:
The Dallas Ramp Project's "response to our referrals has been just fantastic," both in the quality of their ramps and the speed of response.
"They confirm what I have always believed, that by finding your niche and giving back to the community," you can provide the greatest service possible.
It's his calling, Mr. Laine said.
If you would like to help with time, money or materials, call 972-235-7309 or e-mail
volunteer@dallasramps.org.
E-mail bmiller@dallasnews.com