Several Postal Service employees were recently honored by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) for helping a family purchase a disabled-accessible van.
The Springfield, IL, employees aided Lizzie Chamberlain, an Illinois Muscular Dystropy Association (MDA) goodwill ambassador.
Her family was hoping to raise enough money to buy a van that could accommodate her wheelchair, but turnout was low at a fundraising event.
After learning of the family’s predicament, the postal employees stepped in.
“It saddened me to see a family that has dedicated so much time to raising awareness and funds for MDA not supported by the community,” said Springfield Letter Carrier Jon Calloway, president of NALC Branch 80.
Employees conducted a raffle on their own time, buying an Apple Watch, an iPad and a $100 gift card to use as prizes. Participants included customers at a local grocery store who bought 800 tickets at $5 apiece.
“This is the biggest fundraising project we’ve done since I’ve been a member of Branch 80,” said Springfield Letter Carrier Donald Van Etten, the branch secretary.
At the raffle drawing, Chamberlain was asked to select the winning tickets. She drew her own name to win the iPad because several buyers put her name on their tickets.
“It is an awesome thing when we can all come together for such a great cause,” Calloway said.
