TOLEDO, Ohio — Remember Jack Velandra, who was scammed on social media after trying to buy a motorized scooter?
Tuesday night he finally received that scooter after Stride Mobility watched his story.
"Hey there Jack. Here's our team. The Stride team is here to meet you," said a team with Stride Mobility as they knocked on his door in South Toledo.
Almost a month after Velandra first told of his story, he can finally sit on his motorized scooter he was scammed out of on social media.
"I can't tell you how grateful I am for these people to come and do what they did. All I was looking for was to get somebody to look at the fake ads on Facebook and scamming people," said Velandra.
Stride Mobility, in Huron, reached out to us and Velandra, after watching our story on WTOL 11.
"Somebody took advantage unfortunately and he was left without a scooter and some cash. And right away as soon as he, Brian, brought that to our attention, we felt the right thing to do was to give the man a scooter. And wasn't even a question," said Mark Schnieders, who is the President of Stride Mobility.
Velandra needs the scooter because he suffers from Chronic Pulmonary Disease and doctors are telling him he's only getting worse.
"One doctor says I might only have about a year to live. And for the last year, I haven't even been getting out at all. And I just want go. I want to be able to at least go to a park and drive around in a park. And just even go up and down my street," said Velandra.
Now, he'll be able to do all that and more.
It's something Stride Mobility understands after providing scooters for people for about a decade.
"A scooter like this means everything. It's freedom. Freedom to get out of the house to get some fresh air. To enjoy company and time with family and friends and neighbors. And sometimes that's the bright spot of your day," said Schnieders.
And although he was scammed out of hundreds of dollars, there is hope that on these wheels Velandra will once again improve his quality of life.
"I'm really happy right now. I mean it's gonna help me a little bit. I mean it's not gonna cure my COPD but give me a little more mobility to get around and stuff. I'm just thrilled to death," said Velandra as he laughed.
Velandra wants to take this opportunity to warn people of scams.
Meanwhile, Stride Mobility says it's better to reach out to businesses like theirs if you're looking for a scooter.
They say it's easier for you to learn your options and know you're getting the right product.
You can locate Stride Mobility at 2455 Sawmill Parkway, Huron. Or call them at 419-616-6017.