ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Martin Parzynski and his wife Rebecca run a nonprofit, Bella’s Bumbas. Over the past nine years, they have made thousands of wheelchairs for children and given them out almost entirely for free.

“When a family has a disabled child all their finances go into that child’s care. They don’t have a thousand dollars to buy a chair that may not even work,” Parzynski said.

Parzynski got to tinkering and built a wheelchair for his niece Bella, who was born with spina bifida, for about $100. His wife Rebecca posted it on Facebook and a mom reached out asking for one for her kid.

“Around our twelfth chair we thought okay we better figure out a way to do this more efficiently,” Parzynski said.

Now Martin leads a team of volunteers twice a week building and designing chairs for kids of all levels almost entirely from scratch. They’ve never met a kid they couldn’t get moving no matter the barrier.

“It changes the whole family when their child starts to be able to move things around the house and do what they want to do their curiosity and discovery,” Parzynski said.

The wheelchair is free and the family just pays for shipping. But most people don’t end up paying a dime. They have a network of volunteers who bring the wheelchair with them the next time they happen to be traveling. Parzynski says the mission runs on donations of time and money.

“It’s very gratifying to see a kid who’s never had mobility go to a waterpark or hang out with his siblings or friends, it’s very gratifying. That’s why we do this. It’s why I’m doing it, you know,” Parzynski said.

Bella’s Bumbas has sent 3,000 chairs to kids in nearly 70 countries and counting. Martin says while he’s no doctor, he has seen some mobility miracles through the years. He says he’s seen again and again if you give a kid what they need to learn and play and grow they just might surprise you with how much they can do.

“When I made my seventh chair, the dad sent me an email, that it was the first time his son could be in an Easter egg hunt on his own. So that got my heart. Right there. And it firmed what we’re doing is important. So, it’s just kept going,” Parzynski said.

To learn more about Bella’s Bumbas, click here. To see their Facebook page, click here.

Parzynski is one of five ESL Heart of Service Award winners. To hear the other winner’s stories, click here.

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