Michigan student needs your vote to win national contest

Drew Clayborn, a quadriplegic, trying to win wheelchair accessible van

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – A quadriplegic Michigan college student is asking for help to win a customized wheelchair accessible van.

Drew Clayborn was two-sport athlete and band member at Walled Lake Central High School. He became paralyzed after practicing a back flip for a school play in 2010.

He continued in the band after his injury, playing a synthesizer, and is now a sophomore at the University of Michigan, where he is pursuing a degree in bioinformatics -- earning a 3.3 GPA in his first year.

Heart of Detroit: Drew Clayborn

Clayborn is one of 1,000 people entered in a contest sponsored by the National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association as part of National Mobility Awareness Month. Four wheelchair-accessible vans are being given away. 

Clayborn needs 24-hour care on campus and at home. His family members have made his care their full-time jobs. 

It takes Clayborn nearly three hours to get ready every day, and he says a new van would help ease the burden of daily tasks. 

Clayborn needs votes to win. Anyone can vote once a day until May 9th. The winners will be announced in June, with the vans being delivered in August. 

Click here to vote for Clayborn.