An Alabama mom of a child with special needs creates a super cool solution for shopping awkwardness

Last updated on: February 21, 2016 at 7:30 pm by Bristol Palin

An Alabama mom of a child with special needs creates a super cool solution for shopping awkwardness 2016-02-21T19:30:22-05:00 Bristol Palin

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A mom of a special needs child saw a dire need in the daily life of a special need parent. Through months of hard work, planning and collaborating with some of the worlds largest retailers, Drew Ann Long saw her dream come into reality through Caroline’s Cart.

T oday shares the story behind this very special shopping cart:

A shopping cart designed by an Alabama mom to help parents navigate stores with special needs children will soon be available to use at one of the country’s biggest retailers.

Target has announced it will offer at least one Caroline’s Cart at most of its U.S. stores starting March 19. The buggy has a built-in seat that accommodates a person up to 250 pounds and faces the caregiver as he or she is pushing the cart…

“It blows my mind,” Long, 47, told TODAY Parents. “My goal is for every retailer that has a shopping cart on their campus to have a Caroline’s Cart. If you’re going to provide for the able bodied, I believe you should also provide for the disabled.”

I couldn’t agree with her more! I am so inspired by this mom’s passion to make life just a touch easier for families with children who have disabilities.

Caroline, who is now 15, was born with Rett Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly girls and causes problems in brain function. She does not walk or talk.

When Long went shopping with Caroline and her two other kids, she seated the girl in the regular shopping carts for as long as she could. But when her daughter outgrew those buggies and had to be placed in a wheelchair, the trips became more complicated.

Long particularly remembers a nightmare shopping trip in 2007. Her husband traveled frequently and she didn’t have relatives in Alabaster, Alabama, where the family lives, so she was on her own that day with Caroline, then 7, her 2-year-old son and her 9-year-old daughter.

“It was just the most stressful, disastrous shopping trip ever,” Long recalled. “It was just kind of an ‘aha’ moment for me of: there has to be a special needs shopping cart… If I need it, other moms need it. That’s how it got started.”

…Today, thousands of Caroline’s Carts are available at stores including Kroger, Publix, Wegmans and Whole Foods, Long noted.

Courtesy Drew Ann Long

“So many families were left out of the shopping experience,” she noted, awed by how far her creation has come. “It has been an amazing journey and we’re just getting started. We will even grow more.”

As a sister of a child with special needs, this story and this mom’s vision touched my heart in a very special way. The need for such a product is great, and I hope they catch on like wildfire. What I love most about these carts is that they cater to families who care for someone with disabilities who may be older. Drew designed these carts for adults and children alike with a capacity up to 250 lbs. Caroline’s Cart makes inclusion in daily errands possible for all ages where it might not have been previously.

I will certainly be looking for these beauties on my next trip to Target.

Learn more about the heart behind Caroline’s Cart in the video below:

Photos Courtesy Drew Ann Long

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