Hallettsville Lions Club

Lions Club and Victoria North Region looking for volunteers for ramp building

By Clayton Kelley

  • contributed photo
    contributed photo
  • Hallettsville Lions Club members Charlie Neuymeyer, Annabeth Neumeyer, Shirley Rothbauer, David Smolik, Ron Richards, and Michael Moore as well as volunteers Santiago Cazaras and Texas Ramp Leaders Darryl O’Bryant, Mark Kortokrax, and Dick Nance finish up building a ramp for the Texas Ramp Project. Photo courtesy of Michael Moore.
    Hallettsville Lions Club members Charlie Neuymeyer, Annabeth Neumeyer, Shirley Rothbauer, David Smolik, Ron Richards, and Michael Moore as well as volunteers Santiago Cazaras and Texas Ramp Leaders Darryl O’Bryant, Mark Kortokrax, and Dick Nance finish up building a ramp for the Texas Ramp Project. Photo courtesy of Michael Moore.

    The Texas Ramps Project Victoria North Region and the Hallettsville Lions Club are looking for folks to volunteer for the Texas Ramp Project.

    The Texas Ramp Project is a non-profit organization that builds over 2,400 ramps a year. They build these ramps for low-income disabled or elderly people who can’t otherwise afford to buy one. Ramps are built with volunteer labor, keeping costs to a minimum.

    “The Texas Ramp Project was started in the Dallas and Fort Worth area around 2006,” Victoria North Region member Michael Moore said. “It’s spread across the state, and they’ve built many miles of ramps since its inception. It’s grown a lot. They only do handicapped ramps for people that are qualified. They have to be recommended by a social agency that’s done a review of where they’re at with both their health and their finances.”

    Organizations like Community Connections in Hallettsville can refer people who are eligible for the ramp project.

    “We’re also seeing if we can get volunteers from the Lions Club members in Yorktown, Yoakum, and Cuero,” Moore said. “There are volunteers out of the Methodist Church here in Hallettsville and the Methodist Church in Shiner.”

    Folks don’t have to be a part of an organization to volunteer.

    “The group I’m working with are a group of retirees,” Moore said. “The retirees go out and pre-assemble parts of the ramps. They have a stock of materials ready that they can deliver out, set up, and construct the ramps.”

    Last year, the Victoria North Region built their 100th ramp since its inception. This year, there’s already been 22 ramps built. About 77% of all ramps built in 2023 were for people age 60 or older. Moore would encourage everyone who can to volunteer.

    “It’s such a rewarding way to give back to the community,” Moore said. “The Victoria North Region serves three counties including Lavaca, DeWitt, and Gonzales County. We’ve gone as far as Nixon to help build these ramps. There’s been a lot of requests in as well. If there’s more volunteers, we can fill some of those requests in quicker. Some people are on the list from anywhere from six months to a year before the ramps are built. It usually takes between six to eight people to build a ramp. We’ll start in the morning and it takes about two to three hours to build.”

    The Lions Club has already donated money to the Texas Ramp Project. Those in need of a ramp or those wanting to donate to this project can do so at www.texasramps.org. Folks can also send an email at info@texasramps.org.

    “That’s a good way to get some additional information about how long they’ve been around and what they do,” Moore said.

    Those interested in volunteering can reach out to Mark Kortokrax out of the Victoria North Region. Folks can shoot him an email at Mkkrax@gmail.com. Kortokrax will send out a schedule of the next ramp builds.