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Teresa Schroeder
ACCESSIBILITY CREATES OPPORTUNITY:
TERESA SCHROEDER’S STORY
Providing accessible vehicles is an important part of The Joseph Groh Foundation's work to create opportunities for independence and improve accessibility to treatment and rehabilitation. Just as importantly, reliable accessible transportation can help recipients stay connected to the people, places and activities they love. Teresa Schroeder’s story is one example of the difference this support can make.
For Teresa, a connection to the trades has been part of her family story for generations. She was raised in a family with a strong legacy in the construction industry, including a grandfather who worked for decades as a carpenter and general contractor in New Jersey and New York. Her father started Taban Excavation and built a career in excavation and general construction before retiring in North Carolina. Teresa's brother followed their father's path into excavation, and several of her uncles also pursued successful careers in engineering, custom home building, and carpentry. At times, Teresa helped her father with accounting for his construction business.
In 2005, Teresa’s life changed dramatically following a snowboarding accident in South Lake Tahoe that left her a C4-C5 quadriplegic. The injury and resulting complications have created significant physical and financial challenges. Teresa shares, “The full body paralysis has left me with very little income.” Since her accident, Teresa has sustained secondary injuries, further complicating her ability to manage everyday needs and expenses. Accessible transportation became an especially urgent concern when Teresa's wheelchair van reached the end of its useful life. She continues, “I have sustained over a dozen secondary injuries after receiving this full-body paralysis, and it is very difficult with my current financial situation to be able to afford anything much at all. Without a van, I will be stuck in the house.”
Teresa learned about The Joseph Groh Foundation through the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. Facing the financial strain of managing multiple injuries and the loss of her accessible vehicle, she reached out to the Foundation for assistance. Teresa explains, “It will allow for my mother to still drive me. My current wheelchair van has died, it was a 2014 Dodge Caravan with 282,000 miles and there are too many issue with it to justify trying to repair it.”
Thanks to the generosity of Foundation donors, Teresa received an ADA-modified Chrysler Town and Country to replace her Caravan. The vehicle's wheelchair conversion includes a lowered floor extending from the front firewall to the rear bench, a side-entry in-floor ramp, a rear passenger kneeling system, and remote access to operate the power sliding door, ramp and kneeling functions. For Teresa, the vehicle provides more than a way to get from one place to another. It helps restore access to the community and essential appointments.
BECOME A LUMINARYThroughout the year, The Joseph Groh Foundation provides life-changing grants that help individuals connected to the contractingp industry with life-altering disabilities access essential resources—such as accessible vehicles, bathroom modifications, and rehabilitation technology—empowering them to reclaim independence. By becoming a monthly Luminary, you help propel this mission forward.