Inspiring Kickstarter aims to create elaborate costumes for kids in wheelchairs

(The Magic Wheelchair/via YouTube)


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

PORTLAND — Halloween should be a magical day when every child can become something they’ve always wanted to be, and an inspiring Kickstarter campaign aims to make sure that concept applies to children in wheelchairs too.

Ryan and Lana Weimer are the proud parents of five children, but life hasn’t been easy. Three of their children were born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) — a genetic disorder that impacts the control of muscle movement. Because of their diagnosis, the three Weimer children will be confined to wheelchairs for their entire lives.

The Weimers founded a nonprofit, Magic Wheelchair, back in 2008. Their goal is to build out-of-this-world Halloween costumes for kids in wheelchairs, and to “put a smile on the face of every child… by transforming their wheelchairs into awesomeness created by our hands and their imaginations,” the mission statement reads.

Five years ago, the Weimer’s then-3-year-old son Keaton had just received his first wheelchair. When Halloween rolled around, he told his dad he wanted to be a pirate. The wheels in Ryan Weimer’s head began turning.

“During this magical thinking moment, I realized, Keaton has this wheelchair he cruises around in, and every pirate needs a ship, so let’s just build one around his chair,” Weimer wrote on Magic Wheelchair’s website.


During this magical thinking moment, I realized, Keaton has this wheelchair he cruises around in, and every pirate needs a ship, so let's just build one around his chair.

–Ryan Weimer


So Weimer set out to create an elaborate pirate ship for his son, and thus the first Magic Wheelchair costume came to fruition.

“Ultimately, creating each costume provides an awesome experience: taking something from Keaton’s imagination and seeing it realized as we hit the streets with our kids leading the way,” Weimer wrote.

The Weimers launched their Kickstarter campaign* to raise enough money to make costumes for five children this year. They quickly met their goal of $15,000, and as of July 1, had raised nearly $23,200 for the project. Each chair costs about $3,000 to build, so the more money raised, Weimer said, means more kids will have their wish granted.

The Weimers select the lucky costume recipients based on video submissions from children hoping to see their imagination come to life. Those selected work with designers and builders to make their costume a reality, according to the Kickstarter page.

This isn’t the first time the Weimers have turned to Kickstarter. Last year Ryan successfully raised nearly $6,500 to build a “How to Train Your Dragon” costume for Keaton.

The Magic Wheelchair Kickstarter ends July 3.


*KSL.com does not assure that the monies deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.

Related links

Related stories

Most recent Family stories

Related topics

UpliftingU.S.Family
Jessica Ivins

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast