Throsby MP, and Labor candidate for Whitlam at the upcoming federal election, Stephen Jones presented $20,000 to The Cram Foundation at the weekend. 

The money, handed over at the foundation’s group home in Albion Park on Saturday, will help fit out a new vehicle with a wheelchair lift.

The Cram Foundation supports people living with profound or severe disabilities and offers services such as group home accommodation and care, in-home care, respite support and community interaction. 

The vehicle will enable the organisation to transport people with disabilities to specialist appointments or to complete other tasks like going to the shops or the movies.

“These are people with profound needs and they live in group homes scattered throughout the Illawarra,” Mr Jones said. 

“This [new vehicle] helps them to get out and about, into the community and get involved in their activities.”

The foundation currently has a fleet of nine buses but the new vehicle would be its first that caters for a single wheelchair, chief executive Gareth McKeen said. 

“This will give us more flexibility to move our clients around the community,” Mr McKeen said. 

“Without this funding we probably wouldn’t have gone ahead and purchased this vehicle, so it really did make a big difference.”

The money was from Mr Jones’ electorate-specific community fund.