Huntley High Alum, Community Rallies Around Former Classmate’s GoFundMe Campaign

Carlos Delgado started hisGoFundMe campaign  with the thought that if people could donate $1 and spread the word, he could reach his goal of raising enough for a handicap van and chair lift.

Delgado, of Hampshire, graduated from Huntley High School last year. He was born with Spina Bifida and is a paraplegic who is dependent on a ventilator.

His family has a van with a chair lift that broke down because it didn’t accommodate his weight, his power wheelchair and the life-saving equipment he needs.

Delgado needs a three quarter ton Ford or Chevrolet van, not older than 2006, and a lift that accommodates 1,000 pounds, he wrote in his GoFundMe page.

The lift will cost around $8,000, installed. A new van will cost around $25,000 to $35,000, depending on the year and the size, he said.

The Hampshire resident is currently a full time student in a program where he is learning life skills. He hopes to go to college and pursue a degree in computer technology and someday live on his own.

He wants to help his mother, who works as an assembler at a medical supply manufacturing company, pay for the van. She supports him, his brother, sister and grandfather. He father died four years ago.

“It is so important for me to have a van with a lift because it is my only means of transportation,” he wrote on his fundraising page. “Without it, I am unable to go to doctor appointments, weekly mass and other church activities, family gatherings, movies, shopping, school sports activities, etc. Without my van I am home-bound.”

“I greatly appreciate your help,” he wrote.

Former Huntley High Schools students and community members have been sharing his GoFundMe page. One resident said she was struck by how his former classmates, many of whom are in colleges across the country, are sharing the information and donating.

The donations were steadily coming in Wednesday and Delgado had raised more than $2,000 so far.