On October 7, 2025, the Tangsali family of Flower Mound, Texas, celebrated a life-changing milestone: the delivery of their new accessible vehicle through Jett Foundation’s Accessible Vehicle Fund, a branch of the Jett Giving Fund. This essential piece of equipment will support their family’s safety, mobility, and connection to vital care across the country.
Tushar and Shwetambari are parents to two boys, ages 14 and 10, both living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a progressive neuromuscular disorder causing a lack of motor, pulmonary, and cardiac function.
As their sons have grown older and heavier, transferring them from their power chairs into the family’s former vehicle became increasingly difficult and unsafe. Despite living in the Dallas area, the family routinely travels long distances to visit neuromuscular specialists. To reduce health and safety risks, the family drives to appointments rather than flying.
Tushar shares: “As the boys are getting older and heavier, it is getting increasingly difficult and dangerous for us to pick them up from their chairs and transfer anywhere. That’s the primary reason we applied for the Accessible Vehicle Fund.”
Now, thanks to the generosity of supporters and partners of the Jett Giving Fund, the Tangsali family has a vehicle that finally meets their needs. The built-in lift eliminates risky transfers, offers more space, and ensures the boys can remain safely and comfortably seated in their chairs.
“Thanks to the lift, we won’t have to lift the kids,” Tushar said. “There’s more space for all their equipment, and the boys can sit together, so they can play, and even fight, during drives.”
The family is already looking forward to the freedom this vehicle will bring. Their plans include upcoming cross country medical trips, as well as a journey to Orlando for a 2026 Duchenne conference.
About the Accessible Vehicle Fund
With Duchenne being a progressive, muscle-wasting disorder, safe transportation will eventually become risky and unsafe for families without an accessible vehicle. Jett Foundation seeks to partner with families to raise necessary funds to obtain this vital item.
Jett Foundation’s Accessible Vehicle Fund is a fundraising program where accepted participants raise half or more of the amount needed to purchase an accessible vehicle. Once the fundraising is completed, Jett Foundation purchases directly from the vendor and gifts the vehicle to the recipient outright.
The Accessible Vehicle Fund is a branch of Jett Foundation’s Jett Giving Fund program and helped transform the lives of countless families across the country since its inaugural cycle in 2017, gifting over $5.5 million worth of accessible vehicles, small medical equipment, and emergency assistance thanks to the generous support of individual donors, local communities, and major sponsors including Cure Dale’s Duchenne, The Flatley Foundation, Sarepta Therapeutics, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Finn’s Friends, ITF Therapeutics, Kindness Over Muscular Dystrophy, The Killian Family, Michael’s Cause, Robert E. & Marie Orr Smith Foundation, and Ryan’s Quest.
You can assist families impacted by Duchenne through the Accessible Vehicle Fund, Emergency Fund, and Equipment Assistance Fund by donating today or reaching out to Maura Carroll, Director of Development, at [email protected] to learn more about sponsorship opportunities. If you or someone you know is in need of support or would like more information on our Jett Giving Fund, please visit www.jettfoundation.org/giving-fund.
