Share-A-Chair program provides wheelchairs for spinal injury survivors | Everyday Heroes

VALLEJO, Calif. — Everyday Heroes are all around us and ABC10 wants to highlight the work they do. Every week our viewers nominate people and organizations making a difference in our community. 

This week we want to introduce you to Troy Plunkett. The Vallejo man is the founder of the Spinal Cord Injury Active Network also known as SCI Active Network. It’s a nonprofit that empowers spinal cord injury survivors to live a mobile and independent lifestyle.

SCI Active Network connects Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) survivors and their families through peer mentoring. The organization also empowers an active lifestyle towards mobility, independence and a higher quality of life. One way Plunkett does this is through the organization's Share-A-Chair program. 

“We accept donated, lightweight high-mobility wheelchairs. We refurbish them and get them to those new spinal cord injury survivors,” Plunkett said.

After a motocross accident left him paralyzed in 2003, Troy learned there was a long waiting period before spinal injury survivors received their wheelchairs.

“The problem is when they get out of rehab they have to wait four to six months before getting fitted for a custom chair,” Plunkett explained. 

SCI Active Network works with rehabilitation centers from the Bay Area to Sacramento to get survivors a temporary used chair within a matter of days.

Spinal injury survivors often need new chairs every 5 to 7 years. Troy has decided to expand the Share-A-Chair program to meet that need. 

“We just received a grant that will allow us to buy new chairs in the sizes we don’t have,” Plunkett said.

Troy Plunket with Spinal Cord Injury Active Network is an Everyday Hero. You can support his cause by visiting the SCI Active Network website. 

If you want to nominate an Everyday Hero, email John Bartell at jbartell@abc10.com.   

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