MISSION VIEJO : Van Is Donated for Disabled Students
Developmentally disabled job trainees in the South County can get to work a little easier, thanks to a 12-passenger van bought with money donated by local businesses and individuals.
The $20,000 van will transport students to job-training sites throughout South County.
Money for the van was raised by the Citizens Action Committee of Mission Viejo, a group which first started as Mission Viejo’s cityhood committee and has since evolved into a service group.
The committee spent a year soliciting donations from businesses, clubs and residents, including a $5,000 grant from the Mission Viejo Co., according to Wanda Driskill, a member of the committee.
The group had at first offered to buy new playground equipment for the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, but Ruby Edman, principal of the special education school attended by the trainees, said the van was sorely needed because teachers had been using their own cars to transport students to different job sites during the day.
“There were obviously liability problems . . . and there was never enough room in their cars,” Edman said.
The 100-member Mission Viejo-based group will present the van to the school at a Sept. 14 dedication ceremony.
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