Wheelchair-accessible van is ‘incredible gift’ for Wilmette girl and her father

Holiday cheer overwhelmed the showroom of Mobility Works in Niles on Nov. 25.

The warmth wasn’t from shiny decorations. Nor was it provided by Santa Clause and his reindeer companions. The smile on Olivia “Oly” Trindl’s face was more than enough to make everything merry and bright.

Encouraged by her father John, Oly Trindl entered the showroom to applause and praise as she was presented with her new wheelchair-accessible van, courtesy of Wilmette-based The Driven Foundation.

“First of all, I am still in shock. It’s the most incredible gift that I’ve ever received and obviously it’s for her,” said John “Chip” Trindl, a Wilmette resident. “She had no idea. She was completely shocked, completely amazed. She was thrilled.” 

Oly Trindl lives with cerebral palsy and, whether out with friends and family or to her day programs in towns like Glenview and Western Springs, she uses a motorized wheelchair to get around. John Trindl said, “It’s her car. Not my car. Wherever she goes, the car is with her.”

Oly and her father had an adaptive van, but it was getting on in years. John Trindl said the regular repairs had become a burden, and it was behind the times in terms of adaptive technology and features. Still, he wasn’t necessarily looking for a replacement, but someone else was.

Gym buddies

John Trindl and Ben Wozney met at Lifetime Fitness. John takes Oly there multiple times a week to swim and work out. More than a decade ago, Wozney was working on a neighborhood service project to raise funds for an adaptive van to gift to a neighbor. Seeing that John Trindl had one of those vans, Wozney introduced himself at the gym and asked for advice on the purchase.

It all worked out, and Wozney and his neighbors raised enough to buy a van for the Kurtz family and their daughter Addie, 6.

Fast-forward 12 years, Wozney — with help from his daughter Shale and inspired by a daughter with autism — founded The Driven Foundation, which raises money for and then donates accessible vehicles to families with physically challenged children.

“I can’t think of something that is more difficult than having a child with a physical difficulty, that (uses a wheelchair),” Wozney said. “Everybody in the special-needs community has something they have to do every single day and it’s a struggle every day, and this (foundation) just seemed like something we could do that would make a huge difference.”

In September, The Driven Foundation gifted its first van to the Jackson family, whom Wozney met while they were struggling to get their disabled daughter into their vehicle outside of a Wilmette hardware store.

All the while, John Trindl and Wozney remained acquaintances at the gym. So, as fundraising kept progressing for Wozney’s foundation, he approached John in November.

“Ben kept on making suggestions over the last few months. Honestly, I was in sort of disbelief,” Trindl said. “I thought it sounds too good to be true. He walked up to me in gym and said ‘Let’s get you a car.’ … It’s unimaginable you can have such an incredible gift.”

The big day

As the process began, John Trindl coordinated with Mobility Works in search of the right van for Oly. But it wasn’t simple.

The perfect van was in Maine, and the dealership was not quite ready to sell. Mobility Works’ Josef Mayer, though, stayed on it. In fact, Mayer said he was “hounding them.” The van became available in the nick of time and arrived to the dealership at 9 a.m. Nov. 25, the morning the Trindls’ were to receive it.

“Everything worked out just in time,” Mayer said.

Inside the Mobility Works’ showroom Nov. 25, following her initial surprise, Oly Trindl was quick to try out her new van.

Shale Wozney and friends — her fellow New Trier High School juniors who make up the in-development Driven Foundation junior board — helped Oly test out some of the features, including a significantly wider rear entry ramp and in-unit streaming devices.

The Driven Foundation is just one way Shale Wozney supports those with disabilities. At New Trier, she works with the Special Olympics and Educational and Life Skills programs. Shale Wozney hopes to get the school’s support for a Driven Foundation youth board, which currently has a handful of members.

For Shale, days like Nov. 25 showcase the power of advocating for those who have physical challenges.

“I am just very happy, seeing the smile on her face and how excited she is,” she said. “It means a lot to be a part of this, knowing we can help somebody. She needs a van, that’s how she gets around. I think having this right now, it’s great and feels so good being able to help them.” 

Moving forward

The Driven Foundation’s motto is “moving the needle one family at a time,” and as the Trindls take on life with their new gift, the foundation is going back to work.

Ben Wozney said eventually he’d like to donate up to 12 adaptive vans per year. With each vehicle costing approximately $50,000 (certified used models), the organization — which looks to family foundations, service organizations and individuals for funding — would need to raise at least $600,000 annually.

While so far van recipients were found via serendipity, Wozney is looking to partner with other local nonprofits, such as Our Place and North Suburban Special Recreation Association, to identify and vet a match. Mobility Works has also been a vital partner for the foundation, not only for searching for desired vans, but also for providing a discount for each.

“We’re really happy we were able to put together two vans in less than a year,” Ben Wozney said. “That’s more than we thought we’d be able to do. We just had a lot, tons of great feedback, and a lot of people are donating and getting involved.”

The foundation has a unique fundraiser underway now, raffling off a guitar signed by members of the band Creed, who made a much-publicized return to the stage earlier this year. A donation of $20 earns a raffle ticket (limit 3 a person), and the sweepstakes was recently extended through Dec. 31.

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