July is National Wheelchair Beautification Month! This celebration was established by author and illustrator, Horace Knowles, who has started a tradition that has taken off beyond what he had imagined. The idea behind the month long celebration is to give the wheelchair user the opportunity to show off his or her personality in a device that can look a bit impersonal. It’s a great time to have fun and take a break from seeing wheelchairs as a cold piece of metal. Knowles first started this by attaching a florist’s water tube to the chair, which he would then fill with a flower to brighten his day and the days of anyone and everyone who came in contact with him.

Here are some fun ways to brighten up those wheelchairs.