ABOUT ALTERNATIVES IN MOTION
Milestones
| 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 |
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 |
| Results of Fundraising Efforts | |
This was taken before the decorators
got there. We've since moved—just
around the corner.
- Johnnie Tuitel and George Ranville founded Alternatives in Motion
- We recruited our first board of directors.
- Our first wheelchair was donated to a woman who had been a stabbing victim when she was a college student. The eight-year-old chair she had was simply worn out.
- Our second wheelchair was given to a little girl with spina bifida. The Grand Rapids NBC affiliate covered the story, which aired December 1995.
- We established a 5-year plan—our first goal was to place 15 wheelchairs in 1996.
- Breton Village Mall donated office space to us.
- We renovated the space and hung our first Alternatives in Motion sign over the door in October.
- Start-up grants were received from the Grand Rapids Foundation and the Steelcase Foundation.
- We received the first of what became annual donations from Mary Free Bed Fund and Amway, Inc.
- Christmas bonus! All three local television affiliates covered our donation of a wheelchair to a Salvation Army bell ringer.
- SUCCESS! We met our 15-chair goal.
- We received a $75K, 3-year grant from The Dogwood Foundation, which allowed us to truly plan for the future.
- We easily hit our goal of placing 30 wheelchairs in 1997.
- Our local Fox affiliate created and ran the documentary, Johnnie Tuitel: In Motion.
- The documentary won a National Easter Seals EDI (Equality, Dignity, Independence) Award.
- We received our largest ever ($100,000) donation from an individual.
- Johnnie Tuitel was appointed to the Michigan Commission on Disabilty Concerns by Governor Engler.
- We placed 42 wheelchairs (just 3 short of our 45-chair goal)
- We expanded our staff.
- We exceeded our 60-chair donation goal by over 50 percent (that's 92 chairs!)
- Alternatives in Motion received national coverage in Exceptional Parent Magazine and Tuesday's Child Magazine. We were also mentioned in the Wall Street Journal.
- We helped 108 people obtain wheelchairs—60 percent of which were power chairs. (Average cost was $8,000 each)
- We ended the year with over 40 applications on file from people needing assistance.
- The events of 9/11 adversely affected everyone—including our supporters. Fund-raising became a difficult task.
- Despite the challenges, we managed to provide mobility to 54 people.
- Despite the lingering economic woes, we added Linda Vanderbaan to head our public relations efforts.
- She spearheaded our first Quarter Roll fundraiser with the Greater Grand Rapids schools, and it was a huge success. Forty-one schools participated and raised $67,000.
- We received a generous grant from the Christopher Reeve Foundation.
- We also hooked up with Structure:Interactive, the company that is responsible for this web site. And they're doing it pro bono.
- Alternatives in Motion was selected by the Michigan Association of Student Councils (MASC) and Michigan Association of Honor Societies (MAHS) as the Charity of the Year for school year 2003-2004.
- Alternatives in Motion launched the new web site www.alternativesinmotion.org in October 2003.
- We developed three new corporate partners: - Structure:Interactive, Jostens, and Permobil.
- We completed a professional new Pay it Forward video.
- We were able to increased in-kind donations of wheelchairs.
- In 2004 our In-kind donations almost double to over $141,000
- We recently completed a new Alternatives in Motion DVD.
- School donations for 2003-2004 school year exceed $100,000
- 2005 marks our tenth year of giving wheelchairs to those in need.
- To date we have given out a total of 465 wheelchairs to recipients in 14 different states and we look forward to bringing those numbers even higher.
- 2006 Year End We have helped over 600 people with their mobility needs.
- Many thoughtful families have donated gently used equipment that has been given to others with mobility needs.
- Our 2nd Annual Golf Outing raised $15,170 for our mission.
- Alternatives in Motion was selected as one of the Charitable Partner Organizations for the 3rd Annual Grand Rapids Marathon.
- We moved into our new office location in NE GR. The folks at Baker Tent Rental have been great to us.
- We continued to play a key role as one of the charitable partners for the Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon.
- We were selected as the Charity of the Year for the Michigan Association of Student Councils and the Michigan Association of Honor Societies for the 2007-2008 school year.
- Our total number of wheelchair donations is approaching 700.
- We continue to see an increase in in-kind donations of new and gently used mobility equipment.
Results of Fundraising Efforts
As of the end of 2007, we have provided wheelchairs to 694 people. Below is a table of our fundraising efforts and the number of wheelchairs we were able to provide, per year of operation.
| Year | Cash | In-kind | Total | Wheelchairs |
| 1996 | $65,755.00 | $34,603.00 | $100,359.00 | 15 |
| 1997 | $55,090.00 | $55,090.00 | $180,029.00 | 32 |
| 1998 | $199,170.00 | $109,952.00 | $309,122.00 | 40 |
| 1999 | $151,083.00 | $202,507.00 | $353,590.00 | 92 |
| 2000 | $207,673.00 | $170,820.00 | $383,334.00 | 108 |
| 2001 | $142,650.00 | $118,535.00 | $261,185.00 | 54 |
| 2002 | $190,675.00 | $35,272.00 | $225,947.00 | 32 |
| 2003 | $201,596.00 | $75,383.00 | $276,979.00 | 43 |
| 2004 | $185,034.00 | $141,905.00 | $326,939.00 | 50 |
| 2005 | $155,005.00 | $118,010.00 | $273,015.00 | 96 |
| 2006 | $149,110.00 | $209,136.00 | $358,246.00 | 52 |
| 2007 | $164,516.00 | $158,689.00 | $323,205.00 | 80 |
| Total | $1,867,357.00 | $1,429,902.00 | $3,297,259.00 | 694 |