Support for a local family offered at Saturday yard sale

HANNIBAL, Mo. – The life of a local family was forever changed on June 23.

Kaitlin Noonan, 24, became paralyzed from the chest down when her bicycle brakes failed while riding the Sodalis trail in Hannibal. After nearly three months of rehabilitation at University Hospital in Columbia, Kaitlin recently came home.

Kaitlin’s parents are Joe and Karan Noonan. Karan works at the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum, and Joe recently retired as the owner/operator of Ole Planter’s Restaurant in Hannibal. 

The family faces challenges as they transition to a new life providing care for Kaitlin. They have recently moved from their downtown loft apartment into a wheel-chair accessible home, and will also need a vehicle Kaitlin can ride in.

Amy Vaughn, owner of Be the Change for your Community, LLC., recently partnered with Blane Mundle of the local Continuing Acts of Random Kindness group, to raise money for the family to purchase a wheelchair accessible vehicle.

They will hold a yard sale to benefit the Noonan family from 7 a.m. to noon this Saturday at the Admiral Coontz Armory. The items in the yard sale will not be priced, allowing shoppers to choose the amount they pay. 

The sale will feature a large variety of items including furniture, clothes, knick-knacks, books, and more.  According to Vaughn, there has been a community outpour of donations to support the Noonans. 

“We just have a lot of everything and I have been amazed at the number of people who are donating,” she said. “My phone has been ringing almost constantly with people who have items that they want to donate.”

One donation they would love to receive is a van.

Vaughn and Mundle have been working with an organization, Magic Mobility, which provides wheelchair accessible vans. Vaughn said, it’s not a done deal yet, but the company will be able to help convert a donated van into one for Kaitlin. 

“If someone feels inclined to donate a vehicle, the money from the sale could actually go toward so many other things that they are going to need,” she said. “They’re gonna have their hands full for quite a while.”

Vaughn said other donations can be dropped off from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Parks and Recreation Office in Hannibal City Hall at 320 Broadway. On Friday night donations can be dopped off from 3 to 7 p.m. at Admiral Coontz Armory.