PENSACOLA — Ray of Hope founder Jimmy Ray would be proud of not only the milestone the ministry reached this past weekend, but also volunteers’ hard work to continue the cause.
“He would have been tickled to death; he wouldn’t have believed we would have reached this point,” said Ed Lutes, president of Ray of Hope. The ministry, of Woodbine United Methodist Church in Pace, builds wheelchair ramps for residents in need.
On Saturday, volunteers built the ministry’s 500th wheelchair ramp for a Pensacola couple in need.
GALLERY: Photos from Ray of Hope's 500th wheelchair ramp build>
Ray of Hope is believed to have been started in the early 2000s by Ray and his family. Ray died at age 55 in 2010.
WATCH: Video of volunteers building the milestone wheelchair ramp>
“Jimmy Ray saw that need, built the first ramp and then approached the church,” said longtime volunteer Stan Holmes. “The church has picked it up and ran hard ever since.”
Holmes said the nonprofit organization has a list of referrals of residents in need, and it continues to grow.
“Now, we can just barely keep up with the critical cases,” he said. “We build for anyone when we can, but right now it’s the critical cases only.”
One such case involved Danny and Janet Franklin, a retired Pensacola couple. Danny relies on a motorized wheelchair to move around outside the couple’s mobile home unit.
Now that they have a ramp, “It is going to be a lot easier for him to bring his chair in,” Janet said. “It means a lot to us.”
Danny said he wanted to “thank all (of the volunteers) from the bottom of my heart.”
Ray of Hope has received support from an Impact 100 grant, donations from Xerox, along with grants from the Milton Knights of Columbus, the Seville Rotary Club, and contributions from local church members.
The organization has provided ramps to residents living Santa Rosa and Escambia County areas, along with residents in Walton County and neighboring Alabama, Holmes said.
To mark the 500th milestone, Lutes asked volunteers to dedicate a board on the ramp in honor of a person or organization, or quote their favorite Bible verse.
Those who paid $1 toward the ministry recognized Ray and his family and the organizations that have made Ray of Hope possible.
One board memorialized ‘Blue Angel #6’ in honor of Capt. Jeff Kuss, who died last week after his F/A-18 crashed during practice session in Tennessee.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Pace ministry builds 500th ramp (VIDEO, PHOTOS)