WELLS — Hundreds of thousands of people flock to the town’s beaches every year.

The ocean and sandy shores are a huge draw, but for some with mobility issues, going to the beach is just wishful thinking.

It can be difficult to get footing on sand, and standard wheelchairs aren’t designed to roll over beaches.

Thanks to Massachusetts non-profit SMILE Mass, going to the beach just got easier for those with disabilities.

SMILE Mass Vice President and Co-Founder Susan Brown, along with daughter Kristen, presented the town with a Mobi-Chair beach wheelchair at Eastern Shore Beach parking lot Monday.

“It goes from the parking lot over the sand, right into the water and floats, so that the disabled person is able to have the full beach experience,” she said.

SMILE Mass provides recreational experiences for adults and children with disabilities.

Brown said the organization has donated 120 floating wheelchairs in Massachusetts and is now branching out to other states. The chair donated to Wells was the first donation in Maine, which was followed up later that day with the donation of a chair in Ocean Park.

Going to the beach is something that many take for granted, she said.

“If one family member is disabled, most likely the entire family will skip the experience. You’re not going to leave one of your children or your spouse behind to have a family day,” she said.

Brown and co-founder Lotte Diomede are both mothers of children with disabilities. Brown’s daughter Kristen, now 18, had brain surgery when she was three years old to prevent seizures that couldn’t be controlled with medication. She no longer has seizures, but due to the surgery has cognitive and mobility issues.

Brown said  it was “an indescribable feeling” to be able to see her daughter go into the water using the chair.

Young people like Kristen want to fit in and do the activities their friends and family enjoy, Brown said.

“She just wants to fit in, she just wants to do what everyone else does, and now she can,” she said. 

And what does Kristen think of the chair?

“I think it’s really cool,” said Kristen.

Wells Lifeguard Captain Emily Bordeau gave the new chair a test drive, bringing lifeguard Tara Harington into the water.

“It was really easy to handle,” said Bordeau.

Wells Town Manager Jon Carter said the town was thankful for the “tremendous gift.” He said the town had an older beach wheel chair that “had seen better days” that’s able to carry people over the sand but can not go in the water. 

Those interested can reserve the chair free of charge by calling the Wells Fire Department at 646-7912.

Jerry Gosselin, executive director of the Ocean Park Association, said he has a picture on his phone of someone using a Mobi-Chair at the coastal community, located in Old Orchard beach, in 2014. He said he thought it would be great to get a loan program for such a chair, but the chairs are expensive and he had researched SMILE Mass, but at the time they were only donating beach wheel chairs in Massachusetts.

Out of the blue, Gosselin received a call last week from SMILE Mass offering the donation of the Mobi-Chair.

“It was a great surprise, it was a delightful surprise,” said Gosselin.

Gosselin said Smile Mass knew of the Ocean Park community because there had been some visitors to the area who had stopped in Massachusetts to pick up beach wheelchairs before coming to Ocean Park through a loan program with the nonprofit.

He said prior to Monday’s donation there was a beach chair available, but there wasn’t one that went into the water. 

Those who wish to borrow the Mobi-Chair, free of charge, in Ocean Park can call the Ocean Park Association at 934-9068.

 For more information on SMILE Mass, go to www.smilemass.org.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.