Four Sault teens ramp it up to help people with mobility issues

Four inspiring White Pines Collegiate students have used their hands-on talents to construct four free-of-charge plywood ramps to make it easier for people with mobility issues to enter and exit downtown Sault businesses.

Customers who use canes, walkers or who are in wheelchairs find it difficult — if not impossible — to enter downtown businesses that have one step or more at their entrances.

The four students — Aurora Huffels, Ulannah Sarrasin, Alexa Bickell and Spencer Smith —with the help of their shop teacher, Dwayne Alcock, took the time to build the ramps though already busy with their regular high school workload during the 2023-24 school year’s second semester.

The first 50-pound ramp was laid down at The Rad Zone’s front step on Tuesday, August 13.

“I heard about it through Mr. Alcock," Huffels told SooToday. "He asked me if I would be interested in making ramps for businesses in the city and I thought ‘yeah it would be an interesting thing to do.’ I don’t personally know a lot of people who have mobility issues but I do know how much of a struggle it can be. I really wanted to help out. I like to make people happy." 

Huffels, now a White Pines graduate heading into Sault College’s Digital Film Production program in September, also applied her artistic skills to adorn The Rad Zone’s ramp with a colourful design.

“I came up with the design and it was myself and two of my friends, Maia Williamson and Shanti Marisetti, who painted it. We asked Mr. Alcock to get us some spray paint and other materials and we finished it off. We put The Rad Zone lettering on it and there’s a record-shaped circle on it,” Huffels said.

“My reaction to this project was ‘yes’ because I know someone personally who has mobility issues,” said Sarrasin.

“Talking to her about it, how she struggles to get around, how difficult and frustrating it is to not be able to do some things on her own, I thought ‘if I can help, I will help.’ When I heard about making ramps for businesses and their customers downtown I knew it’s something I wanted to get involved in. I’m a big hands-on learner too, so I really enjoyed it,” Sarrasin said.

Sarrasin is heading into Grade 12 at the Pines next month and said she would like to pursue a career in carpentry after high school graduation.

“They are four amazing students,” said Scott MacDonald, a White Pines Collegiate teacher.

“They just went to town about it," he continued. "They built the ramps and Aurora went the extra mile with the artwork. When we approached The Rad Zone to do the ramps, the manager asked ‘if there’s anything you can do to make it funky we'd love that.’ That wasn’t part of the project but Aurora jumped in and she came up with this amazing design. It was inspiring to have these four students working on this project to create something for the common good and to make our downtown core more accessible. They had their own school work to do. This was above and beyond what they were doing and did this on their own time. They didn’t get anything for it. They just did it because they wanted to do their part to make the city more accessible."

“The idea for the ramps came from a conversation I had with my son Benny,” said MacDonald, who serves as White Pines Collegiate’s life skills department head.

Benny MacDonald lives with Duchene’s Muscular Dystrophy and uses an electric wheelchair.

“Benny wanted to get out into the community but a lot of businesses have a step and with his electric wheelchair he couldn’t get up the step and he was getting extremely frustrated because he wanted that independence. He’s very social and he loves to get out but unfortunately a lot of places he can’t access because they don’t have ramps and one of his favourite places is The Rad Zone,” MacDonald said.

The ramp at The Rad Zone comes as a blessing for Benny MacDonald.

“I love coming to this place and now finally I can come here in my wheelchair," he said. "The ramp gives me more freedom and independence. It would be just amazing to have the ability to go into these businesses downtown. There are a lot of places that I have difficulty getting into and it makes you feel excluded a lot of the time, so having initiatives like this, to be able to get into businesses, really does make a difference for me and probably a lot of other people."

He expressed his gratitude to the ramp-building White Pines students.

“I think it’s great to have the youth at the high schools involved in this program. It’s great to have them come together to help like this.”     

MacDonald, 24, is an inspiration in his own right.

A Sault Ste. Marie Easter Seals Ambassador, MacDonald is an Algoma University graduate who earned a degree in English and psychology, currently doing contract work for the university’s English department.

The price tag would normally have been $2,500 for each of the four wooden ramps that were built but funding was made available through an Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) grant, Scott MacDonald said.

“We’re hoping that the City and downtown businesses especially will see that if they're building new businesses that they make them accessible. When you have a ramp you make it accessible for every single person,” MacDonald said, noting that not only downtown shops but also some restaurants and medical offices should ramp up.

“The ramp is great. It makes things more inclusive and accessible for everybody. I’m super hyped about this. The students did a great job and the art on it is great,” said Melodie Taylor, Rad Zone manager.

The ramp will be laid down at the start of every business day and removed at closing time.

With the first of the four student-built ramps delivered, three others are available to any other downtown businesses who express an interest in having one free of charge.

Interested businesses, restaurants or offices can contact Scott MacDonald by email. 

“It means a lot to me. I like seeing people happy and able to be independent, especially if they’ve been struggling to be independent for years because of a mobility issue,” Sarrasin said.

“You should always help someone just because you can, not to get something out of it,” said Huffels.