Faith-based group meets basic household needs
Henry Ficken tripped at his doorstep two years ago and suffered a back injury that put him in a wheelchair.
The 90-year-old Modesto resident had heard of Advancing Vibrant Communities, a faith-based group that helps people with basic needs. In this case, it was a ramp that would help him and his wife, Frances, get in and out of their home.
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“Before I had this, I was trapped in this house,” Ficken said on a recent afternoon in his neighborhood just east of Downey High School.
I go up this thing four or five times a day.
Henry Ficken
on his wheelchair rampAVC started in 2002 as a way for volunteers and donors in Stanislaus County to practice their Christian faith by helping others. Its website, www.vibrantcommunities.org, lists requests for furniture, appliances, clothing, home repairs, graffiti removal and more.
From 200 to 400 needs are listed at any one time, said the Rev. Michael Douglass, founder and president of AVC, which works with churches, service clubs and other partners. About 5,000 to 6,000 people volunteer each year.
Douglass said AVC can respond to the needs more nimbly than government agencies, which can get bogged down in paperwork.
“Let’s get the volunteer out there and connected with the person involved, and let’s get it done,” he said. Or, to borrow a saying from his earlier career in firefighting, “Put the wet stuff on the red stuff.”
Douglass said ramps are especially useful because they prevent falls that can be fatal.
Ficken spent 22 years in the Navy, rising to chief petty officer, and later was a maintenance manager at the former Campbell’s frozen food plant in Modesto. He also has been active in veteran groups.
The ramp would have cost as much as $6,000 in paid labor and materials, said lead volunteer Bill Parkhurst, who worked with foreman Jon Engell on the project. It was made of pressurized lumber and has metal handrails.
“It’s a good, sturdy ramp,” Ficken said.
John Holland: 209-578-2385
About the agency
Address: 605 15th St., Suite B, Modesto, 95354
Website: www.vibrantcommunities.org
Fields of interest: Health and human services, neighborhoods and communities
Mission: AVC serves individuals and families in poverty, victims of domestic abuse, the elderly and disabled with volunteer services, including safety equipment installation to prevent fatal falls, minor home repairs, donated furniture and appliances, transportation to medical appointments and yard cleanups.
Program list
AVC serves as the regional hub for connecting secular and faith-based organizations to this free technology, for better coordinated shared resource management, and to minimize duplication and/or abuse of services.
Funding needs
- Grab (safety) bar installations and ramp installations to prevent fatal falls
- Items needed by single moms and dads for their children
- Furniture and appliances for families coming out of homelessness
- Minor home repairs and yard cleanups
- Technology and resources needed to research and qualify individual needs
This story was originally published November 22, 2015 at 6:03 AM with the headline "Faith-based group meets basic household needs."