Here at QMPC, before there was REACHcycles, there was Wheels on the James. The Wheels on the James was started in April 2011 by QMPC’s own Nancy Wellons, and a board of seven other people. Nancy wanted to pass forward one of the many kindnesses shown to her son, Cpt. James Howard, army retired, who sustained a spinal cord injury from a diving accident at age 28 leaving him a quadriplegic. James received a therapeutic cycle from an AMBUCS chapter in Lubbock, Texas in a bike ride sponsored for disabled veterans and others.
Since June 2011, they have been able to give over 290 adaptive three-wheeled cycles to the physically challenged in Lynchburg and Central Virginia. Their Facebook page shows the many smiling faces of recipients of trikes.
In May of 2018, the Wheels on the James board members made the decision to dissolve the Wheels on the James chapter of AMBUCS. This decision was not arrived at easily, one of the main reasons being fewer requests for tricycles in our region. This is one of the celebrated goals of most non-profit organizations. To meet a need for a community fully or to the point of low maintenance.
The ReachCycles chapter of AMBUCS in Richmond VA has agreed to accept Lynchburg area applications so that trikes can continue to be provided for persons with disabilities in our area and have already done so since the change.