Advocates Inc. in Natick gathering community votes for new van

By Ian B. Murphy/Daily News staff
The MetroWest Daily News


NATICK -

Advocates Natick Village has gone to the Internet to gather support for a free, brand-new Toyota van.

Advocates, one of 500 finalists in Toyota's 100 Cars For Good program, will be one of five nonprofits vying for votes on Toyota's Facebook page May 25. The Framingham-based social services provider is trying for a new wheelchair-accessible Sienna.

"This is just a great way to really potentially make a great impact in the lives of people with disabilities with very little effort and no cost," said Jennifer Johnson, the nonprofit's communications manager.

Advocates' staff and residents have made a YouTube video to raise awareness of the nonprofit's need and the voting on May 25 at facebook.com/toyota.

Angel Arthur, a Natick Village resident who also works for the organization, said staff and residents spent four hours on the video and had a lot of fun doing it.

Arthur has muscular dystrophy, and like her, most of the residents of Natick Village are wheelchair-bound. Vans at the residence are getting old, and they absorb a lot of wear and tear from the heavy power chairs they carry.

"We don't have a van that we can really depend on to go long distances," Arthur said. "People lead independent lives here. The big van might take three people, but not everybody is going to the same place. We need a few vans that we can count on. Having that van would really help further people's independence here, and that's what Advocates is all about: to allow people with disabilities to be part of the community and help them live a normal life. Having that van would help us do that."

(Ian B. Murphy can be reached at 508-626-3964 or .)
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