Barbara Turner Ninety five-year old Barbara Turner is the new recipient of a brand new walk-in bathtub donated by Canadian Safe Step Walk-In Tubs through its Safe Step Cares Program. T Safe Step Cares is an initiative that aims to help individuals and families who for various physical or medical reasons cannot get in a regular bathtub. The program began in the year 2013 and to date has donated numerous bathtubs across Canada and USA. Barbara is unable to remain independent in her home without a walk-in tub and unfortunately due to a recent financial setback, she doesn’t have the resources to purchase one. Barbara moved from Vancouver Island to Chilliwack and now resides in a mobile home park. A walk- in bathtub will greatly improve her quality of ...

Selena Yorke April 16, 2013 – Selena Yorke is a charming, inspirational and hope-provoking 11-year old girl. She has incredibly caring parents, great friends and a very supportive older brother. She shares her birthday and a passion for the color purple with Justin Bieber, whom she adores. She also has a disease: Friedreich’s Ataxia, an unforgiving, progressive neuromuscular disorder for which there is no cure. Canadian Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co. employees were so moved by Selena’s story that they asked their president Robert J. Hartley II to step up for Selena and her family. On the company’s behalf and at its employees’ behest, Hartley said yes, twice. Safe Step donated its top-of-the-line walk-in tub as well as a walk-in shower to the Yorkes as part ...

Corporal Franck Dupéré Canadian War Museum Hosts Private Philanthropic Donation by Safe Step Cares to Corporal Franck Dupéré, a Canadian Serviceman Injured in War in Afghanistan. May 10th, 2014 – Canadian Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co. was made aware of Corporal Franck Dupéré’s service by Operation Veteran founder Dr. Paul Kavanagh. A soldier from the 4th Battalion of the Royal 22nd, which served in Afghanistan, Cpl. Dupéré was wounded by a suicide bomber in 2011. He lost an eye, mobility in his left hand and part of his hearing. As part of its program of giving, Safe Step Cares decided to help Cpl. Dupéré with a state-of-the-art hydrotherapeutic tub donated by Canadian Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co., to help improve his mobility, independence, comfort and ...

Tony Cato Former Quadriplegic Disabled by Uninsured Drunk Driver Receives a ‘Miracle’ from Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co. Tony Cato, Once a University of Nebraska – Lincoln Basketball Star, Becomes First Honoree of Safe Step Cares Program April 8th, 2013 – Tony Cato is getting used to miracles. In September, 2007 his doctors told the former University of Nebraska – Lincoln basketball star he’d never walk again. They ate their words just months later when Tony surprised friends by taking his first steps since being declared a quadriplegic following an accident involving an uninsured drunk driver. Tony, who walks on his own but still suffers partial paralysis, recently received a surprise of his own, as representatives from Nashville-based Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co. arrived in ...

David Scarbrough Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co. revisits the Inspiration behind Safe Step Cares. ‘Soaky’ – a September 2012 Gift from Safe Step – Proves to be a Life-Changer for 13-Year Old with Cerebral Palsy and Spurs Nationwide Program of Giving May 22, 2013 – David Scarbrough weighed 18 ounces at birth. At age three, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. As David grows, his muscles struggle to keep up, but his spirit more than makes up for it. Now 13, David is a Boy Scout and the MVP of his Tee Ball League. He loves dogs, four-wheeling and collects, of all things, keys. He has hundreds on a key ring on a bike he keeps in his backyard. But the key to David’s heart and his ...

Crestview Manor Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co. Makes Surprise ‘Miracle Donation’ to Low-Income Assisted Living Facility Crestview Manor Residents Receive Two Walk-In Tubs and Toilet Paper for Life Courtesy of Safe Step Cares August 6th, 2013 – It all started with a message to Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co. via its Facebook page: one short paragraph with two not-so-small requests from Crestview Manor in Crestview, Florida. The first was for one of Safe Step’s walk-in tubs to bring comfort to 60 men and women of the low-income assisted living facility, whose residents include veterans, military widows and mentally challenged patients. The second request was simple enough but not immediately in the company’s wheelhouse: toilet paper. The first was for one of Safe Step’s walk-in tubs ...

Jazmyne Harris and Amy & Emily Templeton Girls with Rare Disease (Friedreich’s Ataxia) Selected as ‘Safe Step Cares’ Honorees December 19th, 2013 – It began with a letter to a company in Nashville about a teenage girl in Indianapolis with a rare, life threatening disease. Nathan Hand, a friend of the girl’s family, wrote to Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co., which had recently donated a state-of-the art therapeutic tub through its nationwide program of giving, Safe Step Cares. The recipient, Selena Yorke, suffers from Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA), a rare neuromuscular disorder that affects every cell in her body as well as her heart. Hand was looking for a helping hand for his friend, Virgil Harris. Virgil’s 15-year-old daughter Jazmyne also has Friedreich’s Ataxia, a severely debilitating, ...

Anna Grace McDonald Local Teenager with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Receives Surprise Life-Changing Gift from Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co. March 13th, 2014 – Three years ago, when Anna Grace McDonald was 10, she could outrun every kid in her class. But it wasn’t easy. Anna Grace was in pain, a lot of pain. She told her parents that her body hurt everywhere. It was initially diagnosed as growing pains, but it got worse. Over time, the little girl who could round the bases more quickly than anyone in the league couldn’t run the bases at all. She was crawling out of bed and could barely walk due to pain and stiffness. Anna Grace was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA), a chronic illness which can cripple ...

Sophia Jablonski Chosen as the Illinois’s First Recipient of Safe Step Cares. May 29th, 2014 – Naheda Jablonski is a widowed mother of two teenage girls, Sophia and Stephanie. Sophia has cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair. Until recently, the only way Sophia could bathe was if her mother physically lifted her into a tub and bathed with her. Ms. Jablonski is 4’11”, recently had back surgery and her daughter is as big as her, which makes bathing a complete physical challenge. Naheda is well known in the Orland Park community for her fundraising efforts for others’ causes. She keeps her daughters involved in Girl Scouts and dancing (even Sophia is in a dance group for disabled students). Many in the community, as ...

Lacey Pate Auburndale’s Inspiration Receives Life-Changing Gift from Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co. July 3rd, 2014 – Lacey Pate has been called Auburndale’s Inspiration. She was born with an extremely rare genetic disorder called King Syndrome. Her family was advised that Lacey would not be able to live outside of the womb. She is now 14. She spent the first 32 days of her life at Tampa General and had her first surgery at 3 weeks old. Lacey has severe kypho-scoliosis which caused her spine to crush her lung, so she was on a ventilator and gradually made her way to oxygen 24/7. She has chronic respiratory insufficiency, webbing of the neck, low set ears with severe hearing loss (she wears hearing aids) and Arthogryposis. ...

Brookwood Community – The Delivery The Brookwood community houses 110 citizens who are functionally disabled and has 80 others in its day care program. The community put together a video request for a state-of-the art therapeutic tub from Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co., via its national program of giving, Safe Step Cares. This is the original video Brookwood submitted: https://vimeo.com/101539869. Safe Step Cares was founded on a promise the owner Mike Duffer made to his mother: If Safe Step experiences success, his company his company would give back to the communities in which it does business. The company evaluates submissions, letters and requests and carefully selects those in need and simply shows up with a tub of love,  or sometimes, more than one. What makes the Brookwood story so special, ...

Brookwood Community Part 2 The Brookwood Community provides an educational environment that creates meaningful jobs, builds a sense of belonging, and demands dignity and respect for adults with disabilities. Located in Brookshire, Texas, 40 miles west of downtown Houston, The Brookwood Community is a non-profit (501(c)3) residential facility and vocational program for adults with disabilities. Safe Step received a video submission for one of its state-of-the-art tubs. Safe Step Cares gave them three. Safe Step captured so much video from the donation day that it needed to break the video up into 2 parts. This is part two, which explains much more about the community itself. Safe Step Cares values your opinion. Do you know someone who is making a difference in their community? Nominate Somone ...

Revisiting Brookwood Community In 2014, Safe Step Cares received a video submission for a tub for its residents. Safe Step decided to give them three. The donation days, captured in Brookwood and Brookwood Part 2 on this site, are always special. But what is perhaps more special is when Safe Step revisits our recipients a few months later to see how much the tubs have changed their lives. We took our film crew to speak with the folks there and the video shows the impact of the program. Safe Step Cares values your opinion. Do you know someone who is making a difference in their community? Nominate Somone Today Products About Us Our Process 1 (888) 960-5401 Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions info@safesteptubs.com Suite #B103 ...

LaWanda Pryor LaWanda Pryor sought out Safe Step in order to purchase the tub in order to bathe safely. She has multiple health issues, which limit her mobility and the common things that most take for granted—like bathing – have become nearly impossible. She fell in love with the tub, even making a down payment. Via financial hardship, Ms. Pryor was unable to afford the tub. Safe Step received a letter from Ms. Pryor’s daughter, Amanda Pryor, which told the story of the hard luck Ms. Pryor has gone through: Her husband passed away from cancer, her daughter took her own life two weeks after her husband’s death. Pryor was taking sink bathes or using baby wipes because she is unable to bathe safely. The letter from the daughter did not ask ...

Revisiting Crestview Manor In 2012, Safe Step provided two of its state-of-the-art tubs to Crestview Manor in Crestview, Florida when it found out that the bathing conditions were less than ideal. Safe Step also promised the facility “Toilet Paper for Life” when it found out the residents were playing Bingo for toilet paper. Safe Step Cares prides itself on being a partner with its recipients rather than doing a public relations fly-by of a donation only. Safe Step Cares stays in touch with every person or facility that has received its tubs. In that, spirit, on a trip to donate a tub and shower to Crestview’s sister facility Twin Cities Pavilion in Niceville, Floriida. Safe Step founder Mike Duffer treated the residents to a pizza ...

Christina Davidson Nashville resident Christina Davidson recently shared her journey with cystic fibrosis – a life threatening genetic disease, with a national television audience on The Doctors. Nashville-based Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co., whose national program of giving Safe Step Cares routinely provides its state-of-the-art hydrotherapeutic tubs to those in need, donated $10,000 to Ms. Davidson’s new foundation, the Christina Davidson Foundation, to help raise awareness about the disease. For 23 years, Nashville’s Christina Davidson kept her cystic fibrosis a secret, in hopes that she might live a normal life. She endured numerous hospital visits to fight infections caused by the disease and questions from those close to her. When she realized normalcy was beyond her grasp, she also understood that making a difference for others ...

Mac Evans US Army Veteran Mac Evans served with the 29th Infantry Division during World War II and earned a Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Combat Infantry Badge. He was also chosen at Louisiana’s first recipient of Safe Step Cares. He was formally nominated by a Safe Step employee. This most deserving, highly decorated US Army veteran received the surprise gift of a state-of-the-art hydro-therapeutic tub. “We are simply touched by Mac’s story and his service history,” said Mike Duffer, president and founder of Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co. “He was carefully considered for this life-changing gift and we can’t wait to give him this world-class tub. It’s our honor to present this very deserving veteran with something that will provide him with comfort and safety for many years to come.” Safe Step ...

Twin Cities Pavilion In August of 2013, Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co. surprised the 60 residents of Crestview Manor with two state-of-the-art hydrotherapeutic tubs after receiving a letter which stated the residents of the low-income assisted living facility were bathing in deplorable conditions. The company also learned that the residents were playing bingo for toilet paper so Safe Step donated toilet paper for the life to the facility, a promise it has kept. Safe Step invited Crestview’s facility director Becky Brice Nash and Shirley Perring (who wrote the original letter) to its national dealer conference to speak. One of the guests was the facility director of sister facility in Niceville, Twin Cities Pavilion, Melissa Mealer. About a week later, Safe Step received a second letter, this one from ...

Adam Roen On April 27, 2014, Adam Roen happened upon a truck accident on I-35 in the Carlton area. He assisted a grandmother and her 4-year old grandson escape from an overturned truck. As he was carrying the young boy to safety, another truck approached. Roen managed to toss the boy to safety but was struck by the truck and pinned underneath. He has had a hard road back, with four surgeries between St. Luke’s Hospital and Hennepin County Medical Center in the Twin Cities due to a broken scapula, torn triceps off of his elbow, broken ulna, broken ribs, torn bladder, broken pelvis, partially dissected right femoral artery, broken left femur, road rash and more. Nashville-based Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co., whose national program of ...

Pamela Poulan On March 23, 2006, Pamela Poulan suffered a broken neck (c4-c5 vertebrae). Doctors gave her no hope and declared her a quadriplegic for life and advised her she would have no feeling from her neck down. A woman of faith and determined, she asked herself, “Do I give up or do I fight his mountain of paralysis?” She chose the latter. She has made incredible progress but continues to heal. Doctors feel her progress may have peaked. She says no way and Safe Step Cares helped her in a big way. Nashville-based Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co., whose national program of giving Safe Step Cares routinely provides its state-of-the-art hydro-therapeutic tubs to those in need, heard about Pamela’s story and chose her as the ...

Wanda Gray Executives at Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co. in Nashville, Tennessee saw a story online about a woman in Summit, Arkansas – Wanda Gray – who needed a walk-in tub. She refinanced her house in order to obtain one, paid nearly $4000 to buy one then her salesperson (NOT Safe Step) disappeared with her money and didn’t deliver the tub. As the category leader and through its national program of giving, Safe Step Cares, Safe Step decided to step in and help Wanda even though they didn’t cause the issue. The company and its local dealer IPS, gave Wanda its most current and best model on the market. The company’s PR agency, DFPR decided to capture this incredible story. Safe Step Cares values your ...

Kenzie Lutrell As Mike Duffer accurately says, Safe Step is in the business of helping people. He also says Safe Step Cares isn’t about giving away tubs, it’s about changing lives. In addition to the 30+ tubs donated, Safe Step Cares has also helped people in other ways. The program helped Christina Davidson start her foundation, which is dedicated to helping those with Cystic Fibrosis. The donation was featured on the national TV show The Doctors, twice. And last year, Mike decided to help Kenzie Luttrell, a teenager with Friedreich’s Ataxia, through the Make-A-Wish organization. Teenage girls don’t dream about tubs; they dream about cruises. So, Safe Step funded an Alaskan Cruise for Kenzie and her family. Safe Step Cares has rewarded four other young ...

Valerie & Tiffany Heesch Prior to July 12th, 2013, Valerie and her daughter Tiffany enjoyed doing things together and were very active in softball and riding together on Valerie’s motorcycle. On that day, Valerie and Tiffany were riding home on Valerie’s motorcycle when a 2-time drunk driver made a left turn right into them. Tiffany was thrown 80 feet before landing in the ditch with a broken ankle and her leg broken in 3 places. Tiffany recalls lying in the ditch, seeing her Mom lying on the highway screaming and crying in pain. Valerie’s left leg was broken into 81 pieces and her left arm broken so severe that the broken bones destroyed the tendons going to her left hand. The first Doctor wanted to ...

John Felts John Felts is a WWII Veteran, police Officer for 30 years – now retired, a husband, a father. John’s daughter – Tina, unbeknownst to him, wrote a letter to the Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co. seeking assistance for her father. Felts, now 90, has lived a full life but not suffers from a variety of health issues from recent falls, including a broken leg and a broken back. The veteran and retired police officer’s biggest fear these days: bathing. His doctor recommended a walk-in tub due to the therapeutic and healing benefits, but as a senior on fixed income, he is unable to afford the tub. Nashville-based Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co., which manufactures all of its tubs in Hohenwald, Tenn., has a national ...

Jorge DeLeon Jorge DeLeon, Sergeant, United States Army (ret), previously selected by Bay Area Builders Association Support Our Troops to receive a new home via Operation FINALLY HOME, received the perfect addition to his home: a new state-of-the-art hydrotherapeutic tub from Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co.as part of the company’s national program of giving, Safe Step Cares. Sgt. DeLeon received the tub free-of-charge.  Jorge joined the U.S. Army in 2001 after eight years on the police force in Puerto Rico. On his fourth deployment to Afghanistan in April 2004, Jorge and his unit were on their way back to camp after a patrol through the region. Jorge was driving a Humvee, the lead vehicle of the convoy when it ran over an anti-tank mine. Having taken the full ...

Nevaeh Crews Her name is Heaven spelled backwards but Nevaeh Crews’ life in Callahan has been quite the opposite. The 11-year old girl suffered a stroke when she was six and was diagnosed with Moyamoya. The disease is a rare, progressive cerebrovascular disorder caused by blocked arteries at the base of the brain. The name means “puff of smoke” in Japanese and describes the look of the tangle of tiny vessels formed to compensate for the blockage.  Her doctors told her she would never walk, talk or function like a normal child. Nevaeh refused to believe that and threw out her wheelchair and walker despite being paralyzed on one side. Since her stroke, she has learned to eat again, write with her other hand, tie ...

Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota Residents It began with a Facebook post, a longshot request from Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota Designated Coordinator Becky Narveson to Minneapolis-based Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co. of Minnesota. In her request, Ms. Narveson told the story of four incredible ladies, all with intellectual disabilities, who have lived together for more than 30 years. The women are cared for 24 hours a day, but their needs have become more challenging recently. Their one outstanding need: a safe way to take a bath. The women currently have a cold-tiled step-in shower that not only doesn’t fit their needs, it’s not safe. The answer: a hydrotherapeutic walk-in tub. Yet, with a limited budget the solution seemed out of reach until the Facebook ...

Kaitlyn Weaver Kaitlyn Weaver is Alabaster, Alabama’s angel, a 9-year-old fashionista and fighter. The bright colors she wears matches her bright personality. She likes to sing and color but most of all, she likes cheerleading, even if it is done while in a wheelchair, which it has been lately. That is because she suffers from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and Von Willebrand disease, the female version of hemophilia. She is under the care of 9 doctors at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, does chemotherapy weekly and remicade as needed for pain. Through it all, she never stops smiling. Her parents know in-home water therapy would help but with the constant care the family pays up to $65,000 out-of-pocket annually in order to cover Kaitlyn’s medical expenses. Her sources ...

Mike Rollins (Original Online Submission by Wife and Veteran Peggy Rollins): My husband, Michael, was injured in a mortar attack in Iraq in 2003 while serving with the military. He is legally blind and suffers from TBI, PTSD, and severe gate loss and has to wear compression bandages to include gloves, sleeves, and stockings. He also must wear metal braces on his legs to assist with standing, walking, and balance and, at times, must use a wheelchair. Michael has been unable to bathe or shower by himself without assistance since returning home after being injured. An organization is assisting us with an addition to our home to make it more accessible for him. He is currently in constant pain and has, to date, had to ...

Mariah Aquino Faced with Juvenile Arthritis, Local Teen Starts a Movement and Will Be the Sole National Youth Honoree for 2017 Walk for The Cure (for Arthritis); Was Surprised when Dozens Silently Nominated Her to Receive the Her Own State-of-the-Art Hydrotherapeutic Tub. Mariah Aquino has followers world-wide and is well-known in the Pittsburgh area for being the teen behind Mariah’s Movers, an organization the 10-year from Beaver Falls/Patterson Heights founded in order to bring awareness to juvenile arthritis (JA), an incurable disease she was diagnosed with at age 5. The affliction makes her joints swell and at times, makes it unbearable for her to walk. Her doctors recommended a hydrotherapeutic tub in order to provide circulation and healing benefits on days when she is suffering ...

Noah Jones First, there was Mariah Aquino, well-known for being the face of Mariah’s Movers, an organization the 10-year from Beaver Falls/Patterson Heights founded in order to bring awareness to juvenile arthritis (JA), an incurable disease she was diagnosed with at age 5. When a walk-in tub, recommended by doctors, was out of her mom’s financial means, she and dozens of her friends sent nominations to Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co. to see about getting her a free tub via Safe Step Cares, the company’s national program of giving. One of those who nominated Mariah was Jaime Jones, who diagnosed Mariah based on her experience with her own son, 12-year-old Noah, who also has Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA). She felt that the company would probably only provide one ...