Anyone who has been reading my blog for a while knows all about Bella’s Bumbas. You’ve read how Marty Parzynski and Rebecca Orr, the driving force behind this Webster-based grass-roots organization, have dedicated their lives to providing the gift of mobility to children all over the world who have disabilities, by building miniature wheelchairs.
For years now, Marty and Rebecca have operated mostly under the radar. But recently, Marty got some very well deserved recognition when it was announced that he was one of the five recipients of the 2025 ESL Heart of Service Award.
The annual award is sponsored by the ESL Federal Credit Union and News 10 NBC, its purpose to “seek out and recognize outstanding volunteers in our community … Men, women, and children who give their time and efforts to help make our community better.”
The award’s website gives a short explanation of why Marty was recognized, saying,
When Martin’s great niece was born with spina bifida, he and his wife, Rebecca were inspired to find a way to help her become more independently mobile and set out to design a wheelchair just her size. From there, Martin began designing additional designs for wheelchairs that help children with over 70 mobility challenging disabilities and enlisting a team of volunteers to construct them, sending them to kids across the globe, free of charge (recipients only pay for shipping).
Today, there are over 3000 Bella’s Bumbas helping to provide mobility for children in over 68 countries.
Congratulations to Marty for this well deserved recognition!
Thank you, also, by the way to everyone who attended the spaghetti dinner fundraiser held last Friday at the Webster Masonic Lodge. Rebecca reports that through donations, raffles and food sales, Bella’s Bumbas was able to raise more than $3,800 to help with construction costs for the new barn they’re building for much-needed space. The amount raised broke the record for Masonic Lodge spaghetti dinners.
Stay tuned for announcements of future fundraisers, and how you can help Marty and Rebecca and Bella’s Bumbas continue their amazing work.
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(posted 5/9/2025)
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Congratulations for gre