Couple who helps homeless receives life-changing surprise
Veterans United helps Rachelle Burnett, Danny Hagan get wheelchair-accessible van
Veterans United helps Rachelle Burnett, Danny Hagan get wheelchair-accessible van
Veterans United helps Rachelle Burnett, Danny Hagan get wheelchair-accessible van
A Kansas City, Kansas, couple has received a life-changing surprise.
The couple, who is devoted to helping the homeless, saw their lives take a challenging detour. That's when a thoughtful individual stepped up with the keys to a new path forward.
"This is not something that we expected at all," Rachelle Burnett said.
Burnett and Danny Hagan are going places in a new wheelchair-accessible van.
The pair is known for serving the homeless in downtown Kansas City each Sunday.
But traveling to help those less fortunate became next to impossible. In December, a car crash left Hagan a paraplegic.
Sister station KMBC featured them in a story in March.
"There's a lady named Candie that saw the news story that you ran," Burnett told KMBC.
"I got to hear the story and I don't think Rachelle really believed it; some strange lady reaching out saying 'Hey, we want to help," Candie Dearing said.
Dearing at Lenexa's Veterans United Home Loans didn't just see the story.
"We all give 1% of our paychecks to our foundation," Dearing said.
She helped secure a $50,000 Veterans United grant for the couple's new van and there was more.
"They looked in the van and said, 'Hmm, looks kind of empty in there. Yeah, looks empty in there. Maybe we should fill it up,'" Burnett said.
Employees collected donations for the homeless. What started with new wheels will continue to put more good deeds into motion.
"It's truly just life-changing," Dearing said.
It was a touching chain of generosity that'll keep going. The couple organizes a weekly picnic for the homeless in downtown Kansas City. The new van means Hagan can continue to give back.