Thanks to fundraising efforts by members of the Osoyoos Elks Club, the Osoyoos Buy-Low Foods can now offer the usage of Caroline’s Cart to customers. The specialized cart will allow customers with mobility and special needs to pick up their groceries conveniently. On hand last week when the cart officially arrived at the store were Buy-Low manager Brian Fry (left), Osoyoos Elks Club president Ken Thibault and grocery store employee Kyle McBurney, 19. (Keith Lacey Photo)
An Osoyoos grocery store can now provide assistance to customers with mobility issues following the arrival of Caroline’s Cart last week.
Brian Fry, the manager of Buy-Low Foods in Osoyoos, and Ken Thibault, the president of the Osoyoos Elks Club, were all smiles late last week as Caroline’s Cart officially arrived at the store after being ordered several months ago.
Caroline’s Cart is a shopping cart that was originally created for children with special needs.
It provides parents and caregivers a viable option to transport a child through a store while grocery shopping, without having the impossible task of having to manouevre a wheelchair and traditional grocery cart at the same time, said Fry.
It is named after Caroline, the special needs daughter of Drew Ann and David Long.
Drew Ann saw the need for the specialized cart after realizing her daughter would outgrow a typical shopping cart. Knowing what was needed, she founded Parent Solution group, designed the cart, applied for a patent and enlisted the services of legal and business professionals to help her bring the cart to market.
Her mission was to make Caroline’s Cart available to retailers everywhere, providing a quality product for special needs children that further enables participation in mainstream society with their family through the common activity of grocery shopping.
There was only one place that shared her dream and had the technical expertise to make a cart worthy of her daughter’s name.
That company was Technibilt, which is headquartered in Newton, North Carolina, where their main production and distribution facility is located.
They have additional distribution centres in North Las Vegas and Montreal.
Technibilt products are available nationwide through a strong network of manufacturer’s representatives. The superior design, innovation and quality of the company’s products have allowed Technibilt to be North America’s largest shopping cart manufacturer.
Caroline’s Cart has been on the market for several months now and retailers such as supermarkets, hypermarkets, shopping centres and malls are offering them as a valuable service to the families of over one million severely disabled children in the United States.
These customers will find shopping easier and the goodwill they feel toward their store will translate into customer loyalty.
Drew Ann remains hopeful that one day all retailers in North America will provide an equal opportunity shopping experience for parents and caregivers of special needs children by furnishing them with the option of having Caroline’s Cart available to customers.
Fry said the Caroline’s Cart now at his store will be used not only by children with special needs, but anyone with mobility issues.
“It will be available to anyone who might have a difficult time moving around,” he said.
Thibault said Elks Clubs across Canada have jumped on board to help purchase 85 Caroline’s Carts for grocery stores across Canada.
The long-term goal would be to help raise money so that Caroline’s Carts would be available at every grocery store in the country over the next several years, he said.
The $1,400 needed to purchase Caroline’s Cart for the Buy-Low store in Osoyoos was raised through a charity barbecue and contributions made during a concert from local musicians Cindy Doucette and Ken Charges several weeks ago, he said.
Fry said he has wanted to order Caroline’s Cart since reading about the units at a store in Alberta last year.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
