The Wheelchair Foundation (WF) is a non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 founded in June 2000 by real estate developer Ken Behring

Ken Behring

Kenneth Eugene Behring is a real-estate developer, former owner of the Seattle Seahawks football team, and philanthropist.-Early years:...

, and based in Danville, California

Danville, California

The Town of Danville is located in the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, California. It is one of the incorporated municipalities in California that uses "town" in its name instead of "city". The population was 42,039 in 2010. Danville is one of the wealthiest suburbs of Oakland and San...

. The foundation partners with donors (individuals, groups and companies) to provide wheelchair

Wheelchair

A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...

s to people who need them but can not afford them, mostly in developing nations. As of September 2008, the WF network has delivered over 750,000 wheelchairs to people in need in 150 nations.

The foundation partners with various service organizations, including Rotary Clubs

Rotary International

Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...

, the Knights of Columbus

Knights of Columbus

The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....

 and Sister Cities International

Sister Cities International

Sister Cities International is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between United States and international communities. More than 2,000 cities, states and counties are partnered in 136 countries around the world...

, to raise the funds for the wheelchairs, to staff wheelchair distributions, and to deliver the wheelchairs around the world.

The WF International Board of Advisers includes a number of current and former heads of state and celebrities, including co-chairs Juan Carlos

Juan Carlos I of Spain

Juan Carlos I |Italy]]) is the reigning King of Spain.On 22 November 1975, two days after the death of General Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was designated king according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco. Spain had no monarch for 38 years in 1969 when Franco named Juan Carlos as the...

 and Sophia of Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, as well as Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...

 and Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...

.

The mission of the foundation is to provide wheelchairs and other mobility aid equipment, so that disabled children can go to school and disabled adults can go back to work and provide for their families.

Independent organizations that make up the Wheelchair Foundation mission are the Canadian Wheelchair Foundation and Wheelchair Foundation UK. WF Australia also existed as an independent entity until 2008 but is now just a project of the Rotary Club of Gosford West (NSW).

The great success of this international relief mission can be credited to the thousands of volunteers and dedicated supporters around the world who have embraced the idea of providing mobility in an immediate and tangible way to people without the means to acquire a wheelchair.

One of the most common statements from wheelchair recipients is that their prayers have just been answered!