'Brianna's Wheels' Fund Climbing, But It's Still Only About Halfway There

The fund established on GoFundMe to get a handicap-accessible van for Brianna Silveira, 14, of Bristol, who has Cerebral Palsy, continues to climb. 

The campaign has a goal of $10,000. Eighty-four donors have contributed $4,566 so far, according to GoFundMe. But that still leaves the fund more than $5,000 short of its goal.

Brianna uses a power wheelchair to get around at school, but a manual wheelchair at home. She can use the power wheelchair only because a bus picks her up every day. 

As a high school freshman, she wants to do what all other kids her age are doing, according to Linda Silveira Vollaro, who set up the "Brianna’s Wheels" fund on GoFundMe on Nov. 19. 

The handicap-accessible van will let Brianna do all activities most teenage girls do without any limitations and without leaving her completely dependent on her family. A power wheelchair makes her almost independent, said Vollaro. She can keep up with her friends and she can enjoy herself without having mom or another adult by her side.