Ryan and Jamie Coton

Christopher's Community is pleased to announce that Ryan Coton and his mother, Jamie were the beneficiaries of Fall Into Margaritaville, 2007. Ryan has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and he and his mother were in desperate need of a reliable, wheelchair-accessible van. Jamie submitted the following letter to us, and after you read it, we think you'll agree that this is a most-deserving family.

"Ryan has been confined to a wheelchair since he was 10 years old. Life has not been extremely easy for him. He has grown up in a single parent household with one sibling. I have always worked hard to provide my family with the necessities needed to live, but someone once told me that I need not be so proud and unable to ask for help because of pride. I have never asked anyone for help except for now. I realized that it is not about my pride, but about Ryan. We are in need of a wheelchair-accessible van. My parents bought an old 1994 van approximately 5 years ago. My father installed a used lift into this van but we have no tie-downs to secure Ryan's chair. In the last three months I have broken down twice. I had to use up what little savings I had for the repairs, which were over $1,000. I still have not fixed the problem. Ryan needs a reliable vehicle for transportation, as he is about to start college at Hillsborough Community College and has multiple doctors' appointments. Ryan is very active in the community and recently did a T.V. interview for Wheelchair Scholars. He wanted young people to know that being in a wheelchair doesn't stop him from going on to college and becoming a productive person. He doesn't mind being the spokesperson for his newfound loves: power soccer and The Tampa Thunder team. I believe that if anyone deserved to get a little help, it is Ryan. He has always put others above himself. Back in 2001, he asked if we could collect food and Christmas presents to give to families who have children with disabilities. He felt that if he could give up a present, maybe so could others. So we started Ryan's Angels and have been running this from our home ever since. This year, he wanted to expand a little more and add more families to our list. Last year, we helped 10 families. So in conclusion, I am not asking for a van for myself, but for Ryan, so he may continue on his path to greatness and be able to achieve his dream of going to college and becoming successful. And to take away his fear that every time we get in our old van, this may be the day we will break down again."

Sincerely,
Jamie Coton

On Friday, January 11, 2008, Christopher's Community was proud to present Ryan and Jamie Coton with their new, wheelchair-accessible van. Jamie and Ryan worked with Vocational Rehabilitation and were able to have them fund the modifications to the van that Christopher’s Community purchased from Ride-Away vans in Tampa.