When the Fair Oaks Ranch Golf Course is closed on Mondays, a group of golfers roll up their sleeves, put on their carpenter belts and swing hammers instead of irons.
And instead of worrying about handicaps on their score cards, the members of Golfers Fore Others – a group of about 15 Fair Oaks Ranch golf club members — build handicapped ramps for needy members of the community.
“All 15 of us are retired, we all have grandchildren, and we’ll have 6-8 guys available for a particular Monday,” said Fred Martin, the group’s founder. “I send an email out on Tuesdays asking, ‘Who’s available next Monday?’” Now in its 22nd year, Golfers Fore Others provides free home repair and renovations for low-income homeowners.
“We’ll go build a ramp, go repair a floor, go put in a faucet somewhere else, if I have enough guys. We help in any way we can,” Martin said.
The group built 29 ramps last year.
“In the 22 years, we’ve done over 950 projects in all. When we’re driving round, I’m able to look over and say, ‘We worked there, and we worked over there.’” About eight years ago, Martin hooked up with an organization out of the Dallas area, the Texas Ramp Project, a nonprofit that provides free wheelchair ramps to low-income older adults and people with disabilities, as identified by local health care providers.
Sandy Knutson, interim executive director of Texas Ramp Project, said members of the Kiwanis Club of Richardson, Texas, in 1985 were asked to build a wheelchair ramp for a friend.
That initial effort resulted in the Dallas Ramp Project and development of a system for providing wheelchair ramps to low-income people with disabilities in Dallas County, at no cost to the recipient.
Since 2006 the Texas Ramp Project has expanded into more than 40 Texas regions, including the Kendall County area. In December 2023 Texas Ramp Project volunteers built their 26,000th ramp.
“You can change a person’s life in one morning, just by building a ramp,” Knutson said.
On the TRP website, people can request a ramp be built for themselves, or a friend or neighbor. When a request involves this region of Texas, Martin is notified.
“On the site, they fill out a form. If it’s in Kendall County, or Pipe Creek or Bandera, I’ll get an email from TRP,” Martin said. “We go out, assess the need, design the ramp and place an order.”
Once Golfers Fore Others knows what they are working with, Martin will put in an order for frames, to be picked up on the Friday morning before the Monday build. On Monday, another Golfers Fore Others member picks up plywood and lumber for the rails.
“Then we can build a 40or 50-foot ramp by 2 in the afternoon,” he said.
One of the more memorable builds in 2023 occurred in April, when GOF members went out and surveyed a ramp for an elderly couple.
“Mr. Bailey and his wife both needed a good ramp,” Martin said. “We bought materials and pre-made the frames.
“A few days before we scheduled the build, we learned that Mr. Bailey passed away,” Martin said. “Due to the chronic conditions of Mrs. Bailey’s legs, we went ahead and built it for her.”
GFO operates under the administrative umbrella of the First United Methodist Church in Boerne.
The GFO program is funded by tax-deductible donations made to the church in the name of GFO. Approximately $3,500 per month is required for materials. There are no administrative costs, as 100% of each donated dollar goes to materials and tools.
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