Kennedy Valves Donates Special Needs Stroller to Lynch-Bustin Disability Classroom
June 5, 2013
Thousands of talented people make-up Team McWane and most of these incredible team members are married to very gifted and talented people. An example of this is Christa Hicks who is married to Kennedy Valve Safety Manager Matt Hicks, who was featured in an article that appeared in the local newspaper, the Morning Times, on June 4, 2013. Christa teaches a disability class at Lynch-Bustin Elementary School and as you can imagine, much like Matt, she faces challenges each and every day in her classroom. Matt has to help determine the safest way to do the many jobs throughout the Kennedy Valve manufacturing plant, while Christa has a similar problem trying to figure out how to easily transport young adults with a disability without the hassle of a large wheelchair.
At home one night Christa was discussing with Matt the challenges she faces every day due to the lack of necessary equipment and a light bulb went off for Matt. He knew immediately that he wanted to present this opportunity to Kennedy Valve management and see if they would be willing to help out. Without hesitation, Kennedy Valve wrote a check for $1,100 to cover the cost of purchasing a new special needs stroller for the Athens classroom.
There are seven children in Christa’s class with various stages of physical disability and because of the limitations of the students and the lack of necessary equipment, outings had to be cut short and the students were often stuck inside where they could sit. Because of Kennedy’s donation, they are well on their way to solving this problem. The students and teachers are so grateful to Kennedy Valve for their generous donation and took the time to make special hand-made “thank you” notes.
At McWane we understand the importance of paying it forward and appreciate the opportunity to support the communities where our team members live and work.
Please see attached published article in the Morning Times on June, 4, 2013