5Towner aims to donate wheelchairs worldwide

About a year ago, Inwood resident Danny Cornejo's mother delivered a wheelchair to a young girl in El Salvador with cerebral palsy. Giving the girl the use of a wheelchair in a country with very little resources gave Cornejo a special feeling and it’s now something he wants to help facilitate for many others in need around the world who struggle to get around day to day.

Cornejo, along with Inwood resident Pete Sobol, have formed a group called "Wheels Around the World," which seeks to benefit people in need of non-motorized wheel chairs. The group's first priority is to assist local people in need of wheelchairs, but Cornejo also has a vision of providing these devices to people in poorer countries who struggle to function day to day, such as the girl in El Salvador.

"Wheels Around the World" is a cause close to Cornejo’s heart; he suffers from Brittle Bone Syndrome, a rare disease that restricts the 20-year old Nassau Community College student to a wheelchair. The inherited disease, medically coined as Osteogenesis Imperfecta, affects soft connective tissues and causes bone fractures from the mildest of trauma. Last month Cornejo had a chance to explain the goals for "Wheels Around the World" with Phil Schiliro, an assistant to the president for Legislative Affairs in the Obama administration.

"There are people out there who just don't have any kind of resource for a wheelchair," said Cornejo, a 2007 Lawrence High School graduate who is expected to graduate Nassau Community College this spring.

Despite being limited to a wheelchair his entire life, Cornejo managed to thrive at Lawrence High School and his story has touched many people in the Five Towns area. In 2008, Sobol helped launch the "Dan's Cans for a Van" program that aims to collect as many redeemable recyclables as possible and transfer the proceeds to a fund that would help supply Cornejo with a van that could transport him to school and work rather than having to rely on a government-funded ABLE-ride program that can lead to a four-hour roundtrip commute. Cornejo's former physical education teacher at Lawrence, Carol Roseto, also established "I'll Stand by You" to raise money assisting his family.

Sobol is hoping that in the near future 100 wheelchairs that would otherwise be discarded after someone dies or heals from an injury, can soon be provided to people in other countries that would otherwise never have the resources for such devices. One idea Cornejo has is to partner with area landscapers who immigrated from Central America and will often travel to their native countries during the winter. Sobol has also been in touch with local senior centers to see if any wheelchairs can be provided to them to donate.

Anyone interested in providing a wheelchair that can be donated to someone in need can leave a message for Sobol at 516-371-3882 and they will receive a call back with arrangements to pick it up.

"I envision these chairs getting to people who have absolutely nothing," said Sobol. "If we get these to people with such a great need, it's a gift."

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