For Kendra Lewis launching the Cutting Fences Foundation (CFF) offered the ideal opportunity to bring together two of her greatest passions: agriculture and helping others.
Lewis started the foundation in 2022, after the capstone project for her occupational therapy doctorate from Rocky Mountain College helped lay the groundwork. The organization serves individuals working in agriculture who are living with disabilities through advocacy, education and work to eliminate barriers in daily activities.
“One out of every six Montanans is employed in an agricultural-related job, and there is a need to ensure those living with a disability can participate fully in their work,” says Lewis. “Access to adaptive equipment not only increases the ability to work independently but also increases quality of life through access to outdoor leisure activities.”
In 2023, CFF received a $25,000 Direct Effect Quality of Life Grant from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation to purchase an Action Trackchair, a power wheelchair with tracks rather than wheels, to enable accessibility to nearly all terrains. It can also go from sitting to standing, allowing a person to complete tasks like fixing fencing.
The chair is part of CFF’s growing agricultural-specific adaptive equipment loan closet. The grant also provided for a trailer to transport the Trackchair. Lewis hopes to add adaptive ATVs, agricultural equipment lift systems, adaptive livestock handling tools and more.
“Borrowing adaptive equipment gives people time to see if a specific thing works for them while also allowing them to get back to working,” says Lewis. “I hope to have enough equipment to never have to turn anyone away.”
A rancher in Roy, MT, was the first to reserve the Trackchair before it even arrived in the state. The equipment allowed him to go on walks with his granddaughter, mow his lawn, catch, walk and saddle his horse and spray weeds in his pastures. The standing feature also improved his quality of life, enabling him to shake hands at eye level and stand to renew his wedding vows.