Naomi's Journey

Hi, my name is Olivia Mann. 15 years ago we were blessed with a baby girl we named Naomi Evangeline. Within 45 minutes of birth, we discovered that she was born with a moderately severe (oxymoron, I know ) form of Spina Bifida. At that time we had NO idea the challenges our girl would face, and honestly, we still don't, but 16+ surgeries, various "procedures" requiring anesthesia, hundreds of appointments, and thousands upon thousands of miles later, she is strong and pretty dang healthy! She is wheelchair bound (if this term is no longer PC, sorry) but that doesn't stop her from enjoying life and doing the things she loves. If you know her, she is an absolute joy with a dash of attitude.

It's the mileage that has led to our current need. Naomi needs a new wheelchair accessible vehicle. We have put over 120,000 on the current vehicle (2014 Dodge Caravan) in just 4 years. It is starting to have trouble with various leaks and whatnot, mostly due to the age and heavy usage.

A brand new van is upwards of $70,000 due to the cost of installing the modifications required. We are looking to buy something used, to alleviate the price. Even purchasing "used" is quite expensive ($60,000 +/-) but with your generous donations and possible assistance from Far Northern Regional Center, purchasing a newer van for Naomi.

Should we reach, or exceed our goal, the funds will be used to purchase the vehicle and anything left would be used STRICTLY, for her needs and wants. I will also publish photos of the vehicle and future projects that this fundraiser accommodates.

One such project would be to get her a beach/all terrain chair so she can explore beaches, trails, the gravel roads in our extremely rural area, and all that fun stuff.

Funds will be held in a separate account and I will administer the account on Naomi's behalf. Transparency is vital to the donor/recipient relationship, so feel free to ask questions.

Thank you in advance for your generous help,

Olivia Mann and Family