Wayne Werner

Wayne's involvement with the construction trades is an age-old story that parallels that of millions of us. He started out as a laborer, working for his stepfather in the general construction business. His first two years involved performing demolition and cleanup work as well as assisting in any way that was needed. At that point he met an electrician by the name of George Baker, who took Wayne under his wing where he began his apprenticeship. For the next five years Wayne worked for George Baker Electric, performing installation, maintenance, troubleshooting and repair work. George Baker Electric is an electrical contractor serving the commercial, residential and industrial markets in the Westville, New Jersey area, just across the Delaware from Philadelphia.

The result was catastrophic, leaving Wayne permanently disabled and unable to work. As a result he had to apply for SSI and Medicaid. In the meantime, his home was not accessible, forcing him to seek alternative living accommodations. He learned of the Joseph Groh foundation through a nonprofit information resource, devoted to helping people in need find assistance programs to help them afford their medications and other healthcare costs. He applied for a grant to have a ramp installed at his home, as well as to have carpeting removed and hard flooring put in, which would make it much easier to navigate in a manual wheelchair.

The project took a long time to complete due to delays caused by the severe East Coast winter as well as the fact that the work spanned the holidays. During the project, fire devastated the home of the installing contractor, and in February the contractor's mother passed away. Nevertheless, everything was completed at last in early April. At the end of the long project, Wayne e-mailed "Everything came out just great! Thank you guys so much, this means the world to me and I don't know how I could've done it without you." On behalf of all of our wonderful donors Wayne, you're welcome!