Physically Challenged Since Birth And Now Living With The Most Aggressive Form
Of Muscular Dystrophy, Damarius Needs A Wheelchair-Accessible Van

EATONTOWN, NJ (July 20, 2015) — Dedicated to ‘making lives brighter’ since its first store opened in New Jersey nine decades and five family generations ago, it is only natural for Capitol Lighting to rally for ‘one of its own’.

This time it is to help an employee’s nine-year-old son Damarius Roman who is living with Duchenne (DMD), an aggressive form of muscular dystrophy. Physically challenged since birth, having undergone five surgeries for his clubbed feet and subsequently diagnosed with DMD, the Oakhurst, NJ resident is completely wheelchair-bound.  His mom Marilyn says that as he gets older – growing in height and weight – it becomes more physically challenging as well for those who love and care for Damarius to move him from his wheelchair into any type of transportation to take him to doctors, on family outings, and to play dates with friends.

Because Damarius and his family refuse to let circumstance dictate his happiness,
Capitol Lighting is helping spread the word about his personal GoFundMe.com website that shares his story (http://www.gofundme.com/r6xvpc4s). This crowd-raising goal of $20,000 is to purchase and custom build out a wheelchair accessible van for the Roman family. The site was started in April by his father, Mike, and mother, Marilyn, who now is a stay-at-home mother of three as it became necessary in 2013 for her to leave her full-time job as a medical assistant to serve as a caregiver for Damarius who she also home-schools.

To help the Roman family quickly reach their goal, Capitol Lighting has launched
a companywide campaign and made the commitment to match up to  $2,500 in donations made to Damarius’s GoFundMe account. In addition to dollars, Capitol leadership and his dad’s fellow employees hope their outreach efforts could also help generate support by an area car dealership for a donation of a van that meets accessibility specification or the sale of one at a discounted price. Donation or discounted pricing for accessibility build-out services by a van conversion company would also be welcomed.

“Muscular Dystrophy has taken so much from Damarius’s childhood and we refuse to let it take his freedom,” said Mike Roman, who has been part of the Capitol Lighting family for 10 years at its Eatontown showroom and is so appreciative of all the company and fellow employees are doing to help his family reach their GoFundMe.com goal.  “With a wheelchair accessible van, Damarius will be able to participate in family outings and have his freedom back so he can live his life to the fullest.”

According to the Muscular Dystrophy Association website, it was only “until relatively recently, boys with DMD usually did not survive much beyond their teen years. Thanks to advances in cardiac and respiratory care, life expectancy is increasing and many young adults with DMD attend college, have careers, get married and have children. Survival into the early 30s is becoming more common, and there are cases of men living into their 40s and 50s.”

“We encourage the community to come out and join us to help make a difference for the Roman family,” said Ken Lebersfeld, CEO, Capitol Lighting.  “Their courage, tenacity, passion and love ‘enlighten’ Damarius’s life everyday…each of us at Capitol want to help turn up that brightness.”

To make donations, visit Damarisus’s GoFundMe crowd funding website at http://www.gofundme.com/r6xvpc4s. For more information on the Capitol Lighting cash donation-match incentive as well as donations of a van and conversion services, call Bonnie Kaye of Kaye Communications at 561.756.3099 or email her at [email protected].

 

About Capitol Lighting:

From a small shop in Newark, N.J. in 1924 to now more than 85,000 square feet of showroom space in eight cities, the Lebersfeld family’s retailing tradition at Capitol Lighting celebrates nine decades of ‘making lives brighter’.  Always evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of its retail customers and professional designers, the ‘lighting authority’ continues to take the lead by embracing and forecasting indoor and outdoor lighting trends, making customer service a priority and providing high quality lighting and home furnishings. Celebrating over 90 years of business, Capitol Lighting has illuminated more than a million homes, offices and other commercial spaces.  Its 170 lighting professionals and staff serve more than 12,000 PRO designer members. This small business leader with eight showrooms in New Jersey and South Florida and two more set to open in 2015, offers a diverse selection of 300 brands in 40 lighting categories with more than one million products available in-stores and online. For more information, showroom locations and hours of operation visit 1-800Lighting.com.