Changing lives for the past five decades, BraunAbility has came a long way from the small Winamac garage where it began. Born in 1940, founder Ralph Braun's diagnoses of muscular dystrophy as a young child almost seemed like a death sentence. During a time when mobility equipment was non exsistent, life for the disabled was isolated, with very little life quality. Despite the diagnoses and doctors suggestions, Ralph's parents vowed to provide a life that would be as close to normal as possible for their son. BraunAbility Senior Brand ManagerMegan Wegner explained. 

As time went on and Ralph began to struggle with keeping up, his father would help by giving him piggyback rides when needed. Using a manual wheelchair for most of his life, as Ralph became a young man, he began looking for an alternative way of getting around without wear and tear on his hands and wrists. This would soon be the creator of the first-ever documented electric scooter. 

A little clunky but a start, Ralph refined the design to three wheels. Riding around the streets of Winamac in his tri wheel scooter, people notice. Many began reaching out to Ralph about how they could aquire a scooter for their disabled loved ones, who up to this time, had essentially been hidden away from the community. Humble about his first invention, Ralph hadn't originally planned on making a business. Using his first invention to provide for his family, Ralph continued his job as a quality control manager for a local company located right by his home. After the company he was working for moved a few miles down the road, Ralph got crafty again.  

Once again people took notice, and Ralph began installing lifts into full sized vans for others in 1972, birthing The Braun Corporation. Starting with just a handful of employees, BraunAbility now has over 1,400 employees worldwide, with nearly 900 of them being based in Winamac. 

The company still continues to flourish and carry the legacy of advocating for the disabled, despite Ralph's passing in 2013. As a way of celebrating the impact Ralph Braun and the company has made to the world for the past 50 years, BraunAbility is giving back to the community. 

The company will be holding a carnival at its Winamac factory in celebration on Saturday, September 10 that will be from 4pm-9pm for employees and is open to the Winamac community from 7pm-9pm.