Family of Jacob Anstey regifts donated wheelchair accessible van on his birthday

The family of Jacob Anstey is donating a wheelchair accessible van — originally given to them last year — to another family in need to honour the memory of the young boy on what would have been his 12th birthday.

Jacob died in November after battling heart issues that stemmed from a cardiac arrest. His van was donated to his family by Get Messy N.L. and Bursey's Bus Service after his mother, Lisa Loveless-Hodder, spoke out about the challenges of finding accessible transportation.

"We have a lot of good memories in that van. There was a lot of singalongs and laughs and fart jokes," Loveless-Hodder said Friday.

"What Jake would want is to give [the van] to another child who can have the freedom that he got from the van."

The van, called Chewie for Jacob's love of Star Wars, was gifted to Sabrina Reid and her six-year-old daughter Avery on Friday morning at Get Messy N.L.

WATCH | The keys to 'Chewie' unlock more than a van: 

Family of Jake Anstey donates his accessible van to another family in need

12 days ago

Duration 1:34

On the day Jake Anstey would have turned 12, his family gave a big gift to another child in need. Anstey’s family handed over the keys to ‘Chewie,’ a wheelchair accessible van that was donated to Jake just last year.

The business hosted a Star Wars-themed birthday party for Jake to celebrate his memory and hand over the van's keys.

"She's now yours with Jake's heart," Loveless-Hodder said.

Reid's daughter has severe spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. Reid's says the van is going to change her family's life. 

"It's like we won the lottery," she said. "I can't take her many places on my own anymore. So now I think that it will give us the freedom to go where we want to go."

Reid says she already has plans, including registering her daughter for courses at Rainbow Riders.

But first, they're going on a family outing with her step-sisters.

"We're going to Dairy Queen. That's going to be our first stop," Reid said. 

While Reid's family enjoys ice cream,  Jacob's family plans to dig into his birthday cake, knowing his heart brought a community together. 

"We decorated our home like we would have done if he was still physically with us, but this was like the ultimate way to really give back on Jake's birthday," Loveless-Hodder said.

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