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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Contact7 is getting results. You will remember Denver7 first brought you Candace Trujillo's story in early December. She had her car stolen right in front of her house with her wheelchair inside. Since then, the wheelchair and car were both recovered and on Friday, a charity fund donated $2,000 to Trujillo for her to buy a lightweight and more mobile wheelchair to get around in.
The group that reached out with the donation is now spreading that generosity out to other groups too, including Colorado Wheelchair Basketball.
“It’s hard, it takes a lot of work,” said Michael Cunningham.
Cunningham plays for the Denver Rolling Nuggets team with Colorado Wheelchair Basketball.
“We play the whole season to get to nationals,” said Cunningham.
Now a senior in high school, he has played for nearly nine years.
“The goal is to get better every year, get better at what I do,” said Cunningham.
Like most sports teams, the Denver Rolling Nuggets travel for games and tournaments. That comes with an added cost.
“Sometimes we will have years where we will have to miss on big tournaments because it costs a lot of money,” said Cunningham.
But commitment to hard work does not go unnoticed.
The Used Car Dealer Charity affiliated with the Colorado Independent Automobile Dealers Association (CIADA) donated a check to Colorado Wheelchair Basketball to support their organization and programs.
“We couldn't do it without all of our donors and on behalf of us $5,000 in any way you need possible,” said CIADA President David Cardella in presenting the check.
The charity fund was developed five years ago. Since then, it's raised nearly $1 million through events and fundraisers to support groups that apply for grants, such as Colorado Wheelchair Basketball.
“For someone to help cover that, that is a big deal for us,” said Cunningham.
For player Riley Ljungdahl, the donation helps her keep pushing forward to continue representing team USA at the Paralympics.
“It means the world honestly. It shows that they are supporting the sport and they want us to be as active as everyone else,” said Ljungdahl.
