Little Addie’s family gets a new wheelchair accessible van thanks to generous donors

LORENA, Texas (KWTX) - A Central Texas mom is behind the wheel of a new wheelchair accessible van thanks to generous donors, one of whom gave an anonymous gift of $30,000, and a seller who reduced the vehicle’s cost by $25,000 to make it happen.

In return, Lorena mom Stephanie Wolfe is gifting her old van, which is in dire need of repairs she couldn’t afford, to a family in Central Texas with a disabled son who told her they can fix up the van on their own.

“We are so excited,” Stephanie said. “We have been just on a whirlwind for just the past few weeks.”

8-year-old Addie Wolfe was born with significant chromosomal abnormalities, and has lived her life in a wheelchair.

Her family has depended on a nearly 20-year-old van for years that was gifted to them by friends from church, but the van was starting to break down and the repairs were too much for the family to afford.

“It was a blessing in its time. It served its purpose, and the need we needed at this time,” Stephanie told KWTX as she began to look for ways to raise funds. “But it’s old. It needed a lot of maintenance, and it’s really expensive.”

Stephanie went on a mission to get Addie a new ride. She organized an auction and the response was overwhelming.

More than 50 businesses donated a total of 88 items. Bids were placed and nearly $16,500 were raised.

“It’s exciting to see the impact that just one little girl can have on an entire community,” Wolfe said.

An extremely successful GoFundMe raised the rest needed to get the family to the $64,000 mark they needed to purchase the van.

A last-minute anonymous donor asked what was needed to reach the goal and donated the remaining $30,000.

When that money came in, Stephanie had already made plans to go to the bank to take out a loan.

Stephanie says the generosity didn’t stop there.

Woodway resident Valerie Reyes heard about Addie and sold them her Chrysler Pacifica Touring L van with wheelchair accessibility modifications with only 1,600 miles on it, for nearly $25,000 under value.

Addie is already burning up the roads in her new ride.

“We’ve already been to church, HEB, Woodway Park, school drop-offs, and tomorrow, Addie will go to therapy in it,” Stephanie said.

“We just couldn’t be more grateful, and this is just an exciting time for our family, and we are just praising God for this because it could not have happened without God working through so many people. "

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