We’ve all heard the expression “your life can change in an instant.” This past Fall, SAWs received a call to build a ramp for a young teenage girl. We were asked late in the season as the weather was beginning to turn cold and there were not many ramp-building Saturdays left; the schedule was full. It was suggested to Talica’s mother that March or April would be a better date. Then we learned the rest of the story.

Talica, a basketball player for Indianapolis Crispus Attucks High School, had just graduated in the Spring of 2020. Several weeks earlier, Talica and a friend were sitting in an apartment parking lot waiting on a friend to join them. Shots rang out and a stray bullet hit their car and struck Talicia. She would end up being paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

As we spoke with her mom, Talica was in rehab awaiting a safe way to get home in her wheelchair. Her story brought tears to our eyes and a passion to complete the project before the end of the season. SAWs volunteers went into action and immediately planned the build for the upcoming Saturday. For a Saturday in December, the Lord blessed the team with 60 degrees and sunshine all day. The usual SAWs ramp team of 6-8 volunteers swelled at one point to over 20 volunteers with willing hands and a giving heart.

As the build was being finished, Talica’s sister and mother, Shelicia, prepared a buffet of fried chicken, coleslaw, and drinks for the SAWs crew. As the final screws were being drilled in place, Shelicia called Talica and they FaceTimed with the Project Managers. She witnessed the completed ramp from her hospital bed. Talica could finally come home!

This is the essence of the SAWs mission.