Ontario teen works to raise money for new wheelchair van with community cookbook

CBC

13-01-2025

John Ray of Kenilworth, Ont., has been using his mobility van to get around for about 10 years — and it's at the verge of completely breaking down.
The cost to replace it is $100,000. It's money the family doesn't have right now. So the 15-year-old is trying to help pay for a new van by selling copies of his first cookbook, called Big John's Farm Fresh Recipes.
"We have sold just under half of or maybe just over half of the books," Ray said, adding each copy is being sold for $25.
Ray has lived all his life with congenital muscular dystrophy. Because of his condition, he needs a wheelchair to get around and it's too big to fit in a regular vehicle. His family bought the mobility van to drive him around, including to medical appointments in other cities. The van has a larger interior, which fits Ray's motorized wheelchair, and also has a wheelchair ramp and a lowered floor to create extra headroom.
The mobility van the family currently has is 10 years old and it has More than 200,000 kilometres on it.
High costs
According to MoveMobility, a mobility equipment supplier based in Winnipeg, Man., accessible vehicles can range from $92,000 to $180,000.
Ray says the high cost of mobility vans is a big problem for many across Canada who need to use a wheelchair. He says individual needs can drastically increase the cost of the van needed.
"We need something with better supports inside the van for the extra weight of my wheelchair and we need space because I'm growing and my wheelchair is getting bigger," Ray said, explaining why they need to buy a $100,000 model.
"Wheelchairs or vans or other equipment like therapeutic bikes and standers and walkers ... Everything is just so outrageously expensive and the government doesn't help enough for people to afford this stuff."
Disability rights activist Steven Laperrière, who is the director of the Montreal-based group Regroupement des activistes pour l'inclusion au Québec, spoke to Radio-Canada for a similar story of a Quebec family needing a mobility van. He said fundraisers are helpful considering the steep cost of a mobility van.
"If you don't have your adapted vehicle for your son or for yourself, it makes it very difficult to move around," he said.
"The moment you use a wheelchair as a means of mobility, you have no choice but to have [a mobility van]."
Cookbook focuses on healthy food
Ray says his cookbook is focused on healthy family recipes.
"Our family sells vegetables and meat at the farmers market at Mount Forest and in Toronto, so all the recipes have at least one ingredient in it that you can buy at the farmers market," he said.
Ray's mom, Trina Reid, says she was impressed when she saw the final product.
"I can't believe he did this at 15 years old," she said proudly. "People love them. They just think, 'There's a spice guide: that's so neat! There's a conversion chart: that's so cool!' And they love the recipes," she said. "People really are excited about it."
She says people can look forward to trying out some of their traditional family recipes. She says Ray also asked community members to share and include their favourite family recipes.
"There are German recipes in there. There's great-granny's butter tarts. There are a few very long-standing recipes," she said.
Ray says members of the community have been eager to help.
"Lots of people around the town wanted to help. Even if they don't buy a book, they just donate and help the cause," he said.
"A lot of my friends my age actually bought books, whether it be gifts for the grandparents or parents. A lot of them bought books which I wasn't expecting."
Ray is hoping to publish a second issue by the end of 2025.