Two young Webelos Scouts recently got some first-hand experience understanding children with disabilities when they visited the Bella’s Bumbas workshop to see the organization’s operation.
Bella’s Bumbas is a non-profit grassroots organization run by Webster residents Marty Parzynski and Rebecca Orr, dedicated to building miniature wheelchairs for children with a wide variety of mobility issues.
John Wood and Declan Walluk, both fourth graders from Pack 250 in Penfield, began their visit by chatting with 5-year old Lyla Deane, who has spina bifida. Lyla, a kindergartner at East Palmyra Christian School, is in a more normal-sized wheelchair now but got her first of two Bella’s Bumba wheelchairs when she was just 18 months old.
With help from Den Leader Sarah Walluk, who prompted the Scouts and asked several of her own questions, the boys learned why Lyla is in a wheelchair and what spina bifida is (“when you have stuff pop out of your body,” Lyla explained, “and you have to get an x-ray and you have to get a shot and you have to get a wheelchair”). They learned how she wheels herself around and about the accommodations she gets at school, like using an elevator and having physical therapy sessions.
But they also learned that, just like other kids, Lyla takes a bus to school, enjoys music class, likes to play outside and climb on the “spidey-thing” (which, she assured us, does NOT attract spiders), and her favorite part of school is recess. And when Sarah asked Lyla if there’s anything she thinks is really hard to do because she has spina bifida and has to be in a wheelchair, her answer was immediate: “No.”
After their conversation, the boys worked with Marty to build a Bumba wheelchair.
The visit was part of the Scouts’ effort to earn their Aware and Care Scouting Adventure badge, which has four requirements:
- Do an activity that shows the challenges of a being visually impaired.
- Do an activity that shows the challenges of being hearing impaired.
- Explore barriers to access.
- Meet someone who has a disability or someone who works with people with disabilities about what obstacles they must overcome and how they do it.
Den Leader Walluk said that, in addition to fulfilling one of the badge’s requirements, she hoped the visit would “inspire them to see how one person can start small and make a big difference.”
But perhaps the most important lesson learned was this: even though a kid might have a disability, kids are still kids. They like to play and sing and have friends — and recess is their favorite part of school.
An update on the new Bella’s Bumbas garage
Last spring, Marty and Rebecca realized they needed to do SOMETHING. They were rapidly running out of storage and workshop space. So they held a fundraising effort to raise money to replace their small and dilapidated garage with a 22′ by 30′ garage, complete with a concrete floor, shelving, and lots of room to expand. Their goal was to raise $60,000.
By the end of August, they’d met and exceeded that goal, raising $63,000. Construction began almost immediately, and the beautiful new garage is now standing. Rebecca and Marty would like to thank:
- the anonymous Bella’s Bumba supporter who donated and installed a larger overhead door
- Wm. B. Morse Lumber
- Catalino Gutter Systems
- the amazing team of volunteers who did all of the inside finishing work including il=insulation, heating, electrical, lighting and shelving
- the amazing community members from Webster and beyond who supported the project with their donations from day 1
The overall project was headed up by volunteer Tom Dobbins with the shelving design by Joe Callan.
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(posted 12/21/2025)
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