Fundraiser held to help a Durham family that needs wheelchair van
DURHAM (WTVD) -- ABC11 viewers and the community came together Saturday to help a Triangle family get a wheelchair accessible van they so desperately need.
Hundreds of supporters came out to Creekside Elementary School in Durham for the Mills Family Fundraiser.
We first heard of the Mills Family from a Facebook message trying to get votes to win a wheelchair accessible van for their two sons Jack and Luke. Sadly, they didn't win, but ABC11 viewers have stepped up to help the family in a big way.
Jack and Luke Mills are two brothers, just seven and five. They were both born with the same extremely rare genetic mutation.
"Jack and Luke require total care. They don't sit up on their own. They don't walk," said the boy's mother, Arden Mills. "They're non-verbal. They don't communicate their wants and needs, which can be difficult."
Arden is a Durham Public Schools teacher and her husband Adam Mills keeps busy taking care of their sons' needs. A new obstacle they're facing is with the boys growing and getting bigger, it's tough to carry the boys from their wheelchairs into their car seats in the Mills small SUV. They desperately need a wheelchair accessible van, so the two boys can just be wheeled into the van.
After ABC11 viewers found out the Mills did not win the van, donations started to pour in as the van is expensive, about $60,000. A Go Fund Me page is collecting funds for the van and the North Carolina Epilepsy Foundation is also collecting funds. So far more than $28,000 has been raised.
The Mills Family now has a fund set up through the foundation, and you can mail a check made out to the Epilepsy Foundation of North Carolina and send to Patricia Gibson's attention - 100% of your donation will go to the cause. Your donation must state Circle of Care. Donations are tax deductible.
Epilepsy Foundation of North Carolina
Attention: Patricia Gibson/Director
Piedmont One, Suite 5541 A
1920 West First Street
Winston Salem, North Carolina 27104
