Jamaica Mon'!

Here at ROC Wheels, we’re getting geared up for the YEWTHS (Youth Empowered With The Helper Spirit) ROC Jamaica Spring Break Expedition 2011. During March 11-20th 2011, we will be taking a team of 24 students, adults and physical therapists to Montego Bay, Jamaica with the goal of improving the lives of children and adults with disabilities and sharing God’s love with the people of Jamaica. We will be distributing ROC Wheelchairs and other mobility devices that have been made here locally in Bozeman by local students and other volunteers. Lately, Travis Volkman, ROC’s School Wheelchair Manufacturing Consultant, has been busy assembling ROC Chairs at our new Headquarters with the help of volunteers. After the wheelchairs are shipped to Jamaica, we will coordinate with our partners in Jamaica to custom fit 100 highly specialized wheelchairs to their new owner’s needs. ROC Wheels’ YEWTHS ROC Program Director Lee Hanson is still pulling together the details of the Jamaica Spring Break Expedition. We plan on teaming up with the Montego Bay Rotary Club to serve people affected by disabilities in Montego Bay. And of course, we are also in the process of planning fun activities for the ROC Team to participate in during their stay in Jamaica. Last time the ROC Team made a trip to Jamaica in 2009, they spent time at two different orphanages and they also enjoyed time on the beaches, snorkeling and sailing.

“The distribution to Jamaica last year was filled with God’s love! I was amazed as we prayed for people and witnessed the new joy found in each person that received a wheelchair,” Holly Floyd, ROC Wheels Associate Director.

If you are interested in possibly joining our ROC Team in Jamaica you can e-mail me at: rashelle@rocwheels.org. You can also reach me at our ROC Wheels office here in Bozeman, MT at: 406.556.8065. If you would like more details on how you can be a part of improving the life of a child affected by disabilities, please do not hesitate to call us or you can visit our website at: http://www.rocwheels.org/. For a one-time donation of $350, you will have the opportunity to be a contributor to our Adopt-a-Chair Fund. I just want to take the time to say thank you to all of you around the world that have prayed for ROC Wheels and given your time and your financial resources to make an eternal impact on the lives of the people that we serve. May God bless you abundantly!

In Love,
RaShelle Soper
Associate Director of YEWTHS ROC Program

ROC's New Home

On November 1st of last year, ROC Wheels was blessed with the opportunity to move to a new location. The new space combines the offices with a volunteer workshop for bringing people of all ages together to build ROC Wheelchairs and learn ways to help others. Currently, we are retrofitting the workspaces to allow a free and open space for volunteers, product testing, research and development, and youth mentorship. The Board of Directors and Staff are developing a capital campaign to purchase the building and perform renovations that will allow us to expand our programs and services both locally and abroad. Please pray for us as we continue to trust God for every provision.



God Bless You,

Holly Floyd
Associate Director of ROC Wheels

The Power of Love

Dear Friends,

“Let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. And… Love never fails!” (1 John 4:7; 1 Cor. 13:8)

It’s all about the power of Love working in and through our lives. Love is revealed by our actions. Students in schools across the Gallatin Valley have become aware of a world wide need: Over 7 million children need wheelchairs in poor developing countries. These students have taken on the challenge to ROC their world by using their gifts, talents and hard work to change lives. Belgrade Middle School Students put Love into action by building 36 ROC wheelchairs at the Industrial Manufacturing class, creating beautiful hand painted wooden toys in the wood shop and art classes, and making ROC Doll magnets to raise donations for sponsoring ROC wheelchairs. Chief Joseph Middle School jumped into action by building a wheelchair and sewing wheelchair bags and gift bags filled with toiletries and toys. Children from Amsterdam Church have designed and printed colorful gift cards to raise awareness and sponsorship for ROC wheelchairs.

Youth experience the joy of giving when they watch the wheelchair they have sponsored and built being given and fitted to a precious child. Empowered youth make comments like these: “ I feel like a Care Bear!” “I feel warm and fuzzy inside when I help others” “Now I know that I really can change the world!” The kids have learned that true giving requires a sacrifice. After creating a beautiful toy, necklace, doll, flower pot or clothe bag that they really cherish, each student chooses to give it away to bless others. Loosely paraphrased 1Timothy 4:12 says don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young but set and example by how you live and by how you love.

These amazing youth have set an example for us all by recognizing a great need and taking action to help fill that need. The questions to ponder are: What sacrificial action am I willing to take? How can I use my time, talents and finances to empower and bless children with the gift of mobility? Lets follow the example of these students and ROC our world! Thanks for caring!

God Bless You,

Lee Ann Hanson

Co-founder of ROC Wheels

YEWTHS ROC Program Director