Omaha veteran to receive free mobility ramp from nonprofit

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Omaha Veteran John Young Sr. recently took a fall while at a thrift store in Papillion. He broke his neck, so now getting up and down his entryway steps is more difficult than usual.

That’s when his son reached out to Greg Schneider, founder of Operation Ramp It Up.

“For him, trying to go up these stairs, it’s challenging. For me it’s no problem,” said John Young Jr. “But for an 84-year-old man with kidney failure...”

It’s difficult.

“When I’m going down the steps, I feel like I’m going to fall over,” said Young Sr.

John Young Sr. has hard difficult things in his life before. He served in the Army, stationed in Germany from 1963 to 1965. He then worked multiple jobs to provide for his family. After a lifetime of service and work, now he just wants to be outside to “Walk around the yard. Pick my flowers. Hear the birds sing,” he said.

Operation Ramp It Up CEO, Greg Schneider responded to Young Jr.’s request for a ramp in less than 24 hours.

“I just like to give back to veterans,” Schneider said. “I feel like we have our freedoms because of our veterans. And I just like to pay it forward and give it back. It’s so rewarding to be able to give someone their independence and their accessibility back.”

“A ramp… it would help me a lot because I’ll have more freedom,” said Young Sr.

The new, free ramp is en route to the Omaha veteran’s house now. The family is anxiously waiting for this ramp to be installed. They said they got an estimate from someone else for a couple of thousand dollars to install one, but Schndeider’s kindness helps them tremendously.

This will be the nonprofit’s 216th donation across 48 states.

“Every little bit helps, so it’s a blessing,” said Young Jr.

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