Paralyzed Kings Park Grad Seeks Help on Road to Success

A paralyzed Kings Park High School graduate is seeking the community's help to raise funds to put her back on the road to success. 

Hope for Alivia Trust is hosting a fundraiser on Thursday night for Alivia Holmes, Kings Park's Class of 2011, at the Smithtown Landing Country Club. The event hopes to raise $70,000 to help purchase a handicapped van to give Holmes reliable transportation for everyday events. 

Holmes was involved in a 2009 car accident on Old Northport Road in Kings Park while being driven by a friend's father. The driver was killed and Holmes' neck was broken, leaving her paralyzed with limited use of her arms. 

Laura Ayres, Holmes' mother, left her full-time job as a nurse to care for Alivia after she released from St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson in November 2009. She has been unemployed since, caring for her daughter's needs.

"It’s just the two of us. I’m  a single mom. We’re just trying to meet our basic needs one at time," Ayres said. 

One of the first things purchased when Alivia came home from the hospital was the used 1995 van, so that Alivia would have transportation to get to endlessly string of appointments with doctors and physical therapists, according to Ayres. Over the last four years, the van has started to break down and become increasingly costly to repair. 
 
"Everything is falling apart on the van, including the chair lift. Without the lift, she doesn’t have transportation," Ayres said. 

She doesn't expect the process of finding a new handicapped van to be easy, calling it like "searching for a needle in a haystack." Ayres said she estimated a new van to cost roughly $30,000 with it costing another $30,000 - $40,000 to convert it to be wheelchair accessible by installing a lift, widening the door frame and interior structures. 

A Fundly campaign called "Alivia's Road" was started up by Chris Hotzak, asking friends, family and community members to donate anything from $2,500 to purchase the wheelchair lift to $20 towards helping with gas and fuel. To date, $21,760 has been raised. 

Thursday night's fundraiser at Smithtown Landing Country Club hopes to help reach the $70,000 goal. Tickets cost $50 a person which includes dinner, DJ, live music by Robert Von Bernewitz, raffles, 50/50 auction and a cash bar. 

Any additional money raised will be given to the family to help defray medical costs and possible stem cell treatments, which are not covered by insurance.