Volunteers from Foundation Christian Ministries in Bastrop are constructing ramps for residents to safely enter and leave their homes—an initiative through the Texas Ramp Project that needs more volunteers to bring mobility and independence to those in need.

The details

Chris Rowland, a pastor with Foundation Christian Ministries at 177 Union Chapel Road E. in Bastrop, told Community Impact the local need for ramps is growing, as there are more than 50 Bastrop residents on a waitlist.

Currently, Foundation Christian Ministries—with the help of six to 10 volunteers—is able to build just one ramp every other month.

“We are currently the only team building [free ramps] in the city of Bastrop,” Rowland said, noting that Foundation Christian Ministries has participated in the Texas Ramp Project for the last two years. “That’s a problem. We need to expand our impact.”


Zooming in

Rowland, the Bastrop coordinator for the Texas Ramp Project, is calling for assistance from other Bastrop residents who want to lend a helping hand.

“We need a team lead who we can trust to build things properly—one person in charge of the ramp build that will lead a group of six to 10 volunteers for four to six hours one Saturday a month,” he said. “Those volunteers can be people with zero building experience all the way up to those with experience in carpentry or masonry.”

Rowland can be contacted at 512-629-1390 for further information on how to assist their efforts.


Zooming out

Over the last four decades, the Texas Ramp Project, a Richardson-based nonprofit organization, has tallied:
  • 31,007 ramps
  • 160 miles of ramps
  • 799,604 volunteer hours
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recognized those milestones with a proclamation Sept. 17.

“At the heart of the Texas spirit lies an abiding desire to serve our fellow man, and the Texas Ramp Project has embodied this philanthropic impulse since 1985,” the proclamation states. “Throughout your illustrious history, you have striven to provide wheelchair ramps to older adults and people with disabilities in financial need and you have no doubt changed countless lives for the better.”

What else?


Donations can be made online or by mailing a check to Texas Ramp Project, P.O. Box 832065, Richardson, TX 75083.

Notable quote

“We have the list of homes,” Rowland said. “All the volunteers have to do is show up and build.”