Newsletter

Volume 7, Issue 3

March 2025

Message from Mark Denzin

Texas Ramp Project Executive Director

Building Bridges (Ramps): The Power of Your Circle of Influence

At the Texas Ramp Project, our mission is built on the generosity and dedication of people like you. Every ramp we construct represents more than just a physical structure. It’s a symbol of independence, dignity, and hope. And while the hands that build our ramps are essential, so too are the voices that share our mission. This is where your circle of influence comes in.

What is a Circle of Influence?

Your circle of influence includes the people you interact with—friends, family, colleagues, neighbors, and community groups. These are the individuals who respect your voice and value your perspective. When you share the story of the Texas Ramp Project, you’re not just spreading awareness; you’re inviting others to be part of something meaningful.

How You Can Connect Others to Our Mission

Engaging your circle of influence is simpler than you might think. Here are a few ways to get started:

1. Share Our Story:

Whether it’s in a conversation over coffee or through a social media post, sharing why you support the Texas Ramp Project makes a lasting impact. Personal stories resonate, so talk about the ramps you’ve helped build or the transformations you’ve witnessed.

2. Invite Others to Volunteer:

Many people want to give back but don’t know where to start. Encourage them to join a ramp build or offer their skills in other ways, from administrative support to fundraising efforts. There’s a role for everyone.

3. Make Giving Easy:

With events like East Texas Giving Day (and others) just around the corner, now is a perfect time to invite others to donate. Every dollar raised lands us one step closer to providing life-changing mobility for a neighbor in need. Share our giving page and explain the tangible difference their contribution will make.

4. Leverage Your Networks:

Are you part of a faith community, civic club, or business group? These organizations are often eager to support local causes. Consider introducing our mission to your network. We’d be happy to speak to groups or provide materials to help spread the word.

5. Be an Advocate:

Becoming a champion for our cause doesn’t require a formal title. Your passion speaks volumes. The more people hear about our work, the more lives we can touch.

Together, We Build More Than Ramps

When you connect others to the Texas Ramp Project, you’re not just growing our volunteer base or expanding our donor network. You’re strengthening a community dedicated to ensuring that no one is left behind due to mobility challenges.

This year, let’s harness the power of our connections to build even more ramps and change even more lives. Start by sharing this newsletter, talking about your experience, or inviting a friend to your next build day. Together, we can continue building independence, one ramp at a time.

Warm regards,

Mark

Stay Safe While Building Ramps

Your safety is a top priority. TRP has continuously promoted safety for you and your volunteers. With summer approaching, it is particularly important to keep all volunteers safe from the effects of extreme heat.

Use Canopies. Make sure canopies cover the ramp during construction and also shade the miter saw. During construction, move the canopy down as you go. It is important to put up the canopies before you start building to make sure your volunteers are protected from the start. There should be two canopies on each site.

Schedule earlier. Try to schedule the summer builds as early as 7 a.m. to avoid the heat of the day. Everybody can get home an hour earlier, too.

Hydrate. It is critical that we keep our volunteers hydrated by having plenty of water on site. Also consider providing cooling towels that can be placed around the neck for a faster cool-down.

Danger! Never expose your volunteers to any conditions that can put them at risk. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are dangerous and can be fatal. Keep your volunteers safe.

Tetanus Vaccinations

There is something else we should have had on our list of safety features all along: Make sure your tetanus vaccination is up to date. Health professionals recommend adults get a tetanus booster every 10 years. This is especially important for volunteers working outdoors and handling a lot of materials and tools. So update your vaccinations now!

Power Tools

Safety is everyone’s business, and particularly when using power tools. TRP recommends that only seasoned volunteers and team leaders use the power saws. Also, be sure to take extra measures when setting up the saws to make sure they are seated correctly.

When using saws, do not wear work gloves. The gloves can get caught in the saw and pull your hand into the saw, with disastrous results.

Also, when operating the saw, TRP recommends wearing safety glasses to protect your eyes from flying bits and pieces of wood or from a breeze that could blow sawdust into your eyes.

Talk about a power couple! Steve and Donna Swanson spend a good part of their lives working with the Texas Ramp Project. They arrived in San Antonio in 2020, and since the pandemic retreated they have become integral cogs in San Antonio Central operations. They say they have found it a meaningful way to spend time in retirement and give back to the community.

Steve started working in the warehouse the summer of 2021, building modules every Friday. He went on his first build in October. After that first experience, Steve was hooked. Donna started going on builds the next summer, mainly because Steve would come back from a build so excited that she wanted to share the experience.

Today Steve receives and reviews all referrals, works in the warehouse loading trailers and building modules, generates and distributes build orders to the warehouse and team leaders, performs surveys, serves as a build team leader, and submits completion reports in Salesforce.

Donna assists Steve with surveys by calling clients, scheduling surveys, then performing them with Steve. She operates the compound miter saw for a couple different build teams and has recently become the region’s go-to IT person. Together they also build two to three smaller ramps a week on Thursdays, just the two of them.

Steve finds the biggest challenge is the survey itself. “In most cases, the client doesn’t really have the concept of what they want, or they want something that is minimal and too steep,” he says. “After explaining the details of the proposed ramp along with a diagram, most agree with the design.

“Once the ramp is built, it always turns out better than they thought,” he adds. “The ramps are all the same but different, and they turn out to be beautiful.”

Steve grew up in Wisconsin and entered the Navy after high school, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in vocational education. He spent 24 years on active duty and another 15 in civilian service. He worked primarily on submarine launched weapons and systems in both jobs.

Donna grew up on Long Island and has a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She worked for 30 years of combined active duty and civil service for the Department of Defense, mainly in financial management and systems analysis. The Swansons lived in Washington state before moving to Texas.



When not busy building ramps, the couple spends time with their church, various service groups and travel. They say they get their “baby fix” working in the church nursery twice a month. They also enjoy several styles of ballroom dancing and, since moving to Texas, all the styles to country music. We bet Texas, but especially TRP, is glad they are here!

Surveyor Helpful Hint: Leave Your Contact Information

Surveying is a critical function. It’s the first step to getting your client toward safety and freedom.

What do you do after you survey a site for a ramp? If you have met with the client or family member, do you leave a contact number? If not, please consider this:

When a survey is conducted, the client’s expectations are raised. They really want to know when they might be getting a ramp, and they may have other questions.

So providing a local contact name and number is the considerate thing to do. If the client isn’t home, leave your card or create a door hanger with your contact information so they will know you were there. Often, their neighbors will tell them you were there anyway.

When clients don’t have local contact information, they reach back out to the referral source. This starts a cascade of emails and phone calls to our info line. Nancy DeLuca, who monitors the info line, is then challenged with getting the information from you, the client, and/or the referral source—often all three. This results in needless phone calls and detective work on her part. She can receive several such calls in just a single day.

If you have provided a local contact name and number, you can help reduce these calls by working directly with the client. And Nancy will be most grateful.

There once was a fellow named Veyor, Who visited homes when invited. He measured & drew and designed their ramps too, working so hard he was knighted.

We now call him ______.



A limerick from Mary Jo Bolster's presentation at the 2024 TRP Statewide Conference

Revised Forms

Recent Grants and Donations

TRP has received a $100,000 grant from Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. MHM, headquartered in San Antonio, supports clinical care as well as community-led efforts that improve living conditions that cause people to be sick in the first place. Their service area covers Central and South Texas. TRP will use this funding in rural counties in the Austin, Corpus Christi, McAllen, San Angelo, San Antonio and Victoria regions.

Grants and donations (excluding individuals and government reimbursements) received in the past month include the following:

• $100,000 for South Texas from Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.
• $20,256 for Statewide use from Home Depot (rebate).
• $20,000 for San Antonio Northwest from Perry & Ruby Stevens Charitable Foundation.
• $14,000 for Houston from David Weekley Homes CARE Fund.
• $10,000 for Abilene from Shelton Family Foundation.
• $10,000 for Amarillo from High Plains Christian Ministries Foundation.
• $5,000 for Austin North from Georgetown Healthcare System Inc.
• $3,074 for Waco South from Waco Habitat for Humanity.
• $2,950 for Austin West from Hill Country Fellowship.
• $2,400 for Austin East from Oviedo Chevrolet-Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge-Ram-Fiat.
• $1,740 for Houston Central from Good Shepherd Church Cypress.
• $1,600 for Dallas from Community Council of Greater Dallas.
• $1,000 for Austin North from United Methodist Men.
• $1,000 for Statewide use from ARC Protestant Chapel.
• $1,000 for McAllen from South Texas Electric Cooperative.
• $1,000 for Texarkana West Titus County from Giving Cheerfully.
• $845 for Dallas from First United Methodist Church of Richardson.
• $688 for Dallas from Texas Instruments Foundation.
• $608 for Houston North from Montgomery County Habitat for Humanity.
• $614 for Abilene from Disability in Action.
• $500 for Statewide use from Montalba Christian Church.
• $417 for Austin West from The Church at Horseshoe Bay.
• $300 for Austin West from Southwest Area Camping Squares.
• $250 for Austin East from St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church.
• $100 for East Texas Tyler from Langen/Wink Bible Class.

Ramp of the Month, Harris County

Houston Central

Young Myles D., 5, of Houston needs a walker or wheelchair to get around. His father had to carry him up and down steps to go to his many appointments. But no longer! Now both Myles and his little brother are zipping up and down their new 28-foot ramp, built by volunteers from Christ Memorial Lutheran Church and St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church. The volunteers donated 45 hours of labor to make life so much easier for Myles and his family. The referral for this ramp came from Wellpoint STAR Kids.

You are encouraged to use the TRP Media Consent, Waiver and Release form for your builds. To access the form, click here.

We hope you enjoy having the newsletter sent to you directly, as it is filled with useful information, building hints and tips, data collection updates and processes, client stories, special announcements and recognitions.

The newsletter only does its job when it is dispersed and shared with all who might be interested. We encourage you to liberally pass it on to others in your region.

Also, do send email addresses of people in your region who should be receiving it, along with their name and TRP region, to Sandy Knutson at sjknutson@texasramps.org.

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