Opening up the world for wheelchair users, Flowers AutoGroup partnered with Spartan Wheel Chariots, a local business, throughout November to get all-terrain wheelchairs for those in need of one. 

Benjamin Huntzinger, a sixth grade science teacher and founder of Spartan Wheel Chariots, said that Stephanie White, owner loyalty manager of Flowers AutoGroup, reached out to him about donating $50 for every car sold from their lot throughout November. 

“Stephanie White of Flowers reached out to me and said, ‘hey, would you be interested in us doing a fundraiser for you, where every car we sell in November, we’ll donate $50 towards getting somebody a new chair at no cost to them,’” he said. “So, December rolls around and I get a call from them saying ‘we’ve raised $5100.’ I did the math it comes up to five wheelchairs.”

Huntzinger, who personally fashions each wheelchair himself in his workshop, said that he went to searching for people in need of one of these free wheelchairs. 

“I put a message out on Facebook where I do all my marketing,” he said. “Within 12 hours, I had 100 messages, so I kinda vetted out people I thought would be the most needy and really use it, some people buy them and just use them for a beach chair on their beach trip once a year, because they’re cheaper than any other beach wheelchair.”

With his five candidates chosen, Huntzinger said that he expects to be done with the construction of the wheelchairs by the new year, being in the process of shipping by January 2. 

“So, I’ve got my five candidates picked and today I’m building one that a girl purchased and then I’ll get on theirs,” he said. “By the time I go back to school, the 2nd, I’ll have all five built, probably be in the process of shipping.”

Providing wheelchairs to wheelchair users around the world, Huntzinger said that he first started making his own wheelchairs after he won a competition while enrolled at Southern Regional Technical College. 

“I got paralyzed 13 years ago,” Huntzinger said. “There was nothing on the market that was available for an affordable price, a wheelchair that would go anywhere off-road. So, nine years after that, I enrolled at Southern Regional. They sent me to a competition and I won enough money to start building my own wheelchairs and sell ‘em.”

Since he began, Huntzinger said that he’d built 300 wheelchairs, shipping them out to all over the United States, and has been in contact with multiple organizations that have helped him get more wheelchairs to those in need of them. 

“In three years, I’ve built 300 wheelchairs, sell ‘em all over the country,” he said. “I had a great group of people at Adelle Creations build me a website and I’ve worked with non-profits and charities to help people get them for no cost.”

Inspired by innovations in mountain bikes and developments in other industries, Huntzinger said that he wanted to bring those same quality designs to the lives of wheelchair users at an affordable price. 

“The wheelchair has got a dolly tire on the front, everything’s from the hardware store, it’s very inexpensive to build one, which was what niche I was going for,” he said. “Sell them at a price that’s  affordable for people who live on disability.”

From a suspension system to dolly tires, Huntzinger said that his wheelchairs, which weigh about 30lbs, can go just about anywhere the wheelchair user wants to go.

Thanking the Flowers AutoGroup, Huntzinger said that they were a phenomenal group of people that really represented the best of America. 

“Just what a phenomenal group of people, just wanting to take their time and effort to help other people,” he said. “Who we are as a country, who we are as a town, you know, just wow, it’s really cool to see that part of the community and experience it.”

To experience someone break down and thank him for the free wheelchair during the Christmas season, Huntzinger said, it was something that he couldn’t put into words.

“What each chair does for these five people,” he said, “it’s awesome.”