For many people, a trip to the beach is as simple as walking across the sand. For a wheelchair user, the same stretch can be the barrier that keeps the water out of reach. Scottburgh resident Sue Martin understands that barrier personally. After an accident left her paraplegic, she became an adaptive surfer and a determined voice for better beach access. Her campaign focused on a practical solution: an all-terrain wheelchair designed to move over sand.
The response was swift. Residents and supporters helped raise the money needed for Scottburgh’s first chair in about six weeks, and Sue became its first user. What arrived was more than a piece of equipment. It created a new route to the shoreline for residents and visitors who might otherwise have had to watch from a distance.
Accessibility often begins with someone naming an everyday obstacle and a community deciding it can be changed. On Scottburgh Beach, that change now has wheels.
What people made possible
- An all-terrain wheelchair can cross sand that stops standard wheelchairs.
- The local campaign reached its goal through broad community participation.
- The chair makes beach experiences more inclusive for residents and visitors.
View the campaign
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