Community members and leaders alike gathered for the fourth annual Wheelathon, held Saturday by the PACE Center for Independent Living.

PACE is an organization that provides resources to those with disabilities to help them live as independently as possible. The purpose of the Wheelathon was two-fold­­: to raise awareness about accessibility for people with disabilities and to raise money for the organization. The event brought in over $2,500 of donations.

The Wheelathon has been a collaboration between PACE and Parkland College-based organization Club ACCESS since 2008. The two organizations split the proceeds of the event. The Wheelathon, an obstacle course navigated by wheelchair, is usually held outside at Parkland. Because of inclement weather Saturday it was moved inside, which decreased participation slightly from past years.

Even so, participants were excited at the turnout and the day’s activities.

“(Wheelathon) is a good opportunity for people with disabilities to get together and speak about issues,” said Beckee Hardy, Rantoul resident.

Awareness and education were stressed at the event. Flyers and posters punctuated the obstacle course with facts about disabilities and accessibility.

“We just want people to see what it’s like to navigate from a chair,” said Nancy McClellan-Hickey, PACE executive director. “We want people to understand why accessibility is so important.”

The state budget cuts facing PACE and many other health and human service organizations were the topic of many discussions at the event.

“We hope to raise a fair amount of money to offset the drastic budget cuts we’re looking at from the state,” said Jermaine Raymer, independent living specialist at PACE.

Pamphlets about the budget cuts were handed out, along with information about contacting local legislators, including Wheelathon attendees State Senator Mike Frerichs, D-52, and State Representative Naomi Jakobsson, D-103.

The two participated in the obstacle course in wheelchairs. PACE program and advocacy director Hadley Ravencroft said their participation was key in helping the legislators understand just one facet of the seriousness of the work PACE does.

According to PACE independent living coordinator Terry Townsend, a decision on the state budget must be made by the end of April when the Illinois House Appropriations Committee will meet to finalize decisions about the state’s human services budget.

Both Townsend and Ravencroft are planning to attend these meetings on April 27 and 28 in Springfield and hope to speak to the members of the General Assembly.

Frerichs said wheeling himself around the obstacle course was a “learning experience about the challenges faced by people with disabilities.”

Many participants had the opportunity to speak with Frerichs and Jakobsson about PACE and Club ACCESS. Later on, Mayor-elect Don Gerard spoke with many from the community. It was Gerard’s first experience with PACE and Club ACCESS.

Although he has no part in deciding the state budget, Gerard said he fully supports PACE and wants to be an advocate for those with disabilities and their caregivers.

“Obviously, we never want to see those programs cut,” Gerard said. “I’d like to use my voice as mayor to speak for people with disabilities.”