But that moment was delayed last April when he was struck by a car in Zebulon. Now he can look forward to school again.

The wreck left the little boy paralyzed and in a wheel chair. He started a physical rehabilitation regimen soon after the wreck, but remains confined to a wheelchair. His parents are able to get Juan to physical therapy appointments, but school had proven to be a much bigger challenge. Without a ramp to get Juan out of the house and to the school, transportation became an issue.

When some friends of the family heard about the dilemma, they took matters into their own hands and on Saturday more than a dozen people turned out to build a ramp that runs nearly the length of the little boy's home.

Natalie Driskell works at the Eastern Regional Center. She knew Juan from some work she had done with the boy's family a few years earlier. Another ERC employee, Miriam Clifford, told Driskel about the challenges Juan faced just getting to school.

"I was too much of a do-it-yourselfer to let that go," Driskell said. She turned to a friend of hers to design a ramp for the boy. Then she went to Home Depot in Knightdale, where she hoped to get some of the material donated.

What she got surprised even her.

Store manager Ray Jones got approval to donate all the materials and Jennifer Lacey, who works with the store's professional customers, posted a sign up sheet in the store break room. On Saturday nearly a dozen Home Depot employees were part of the work crew. Some of the company's builders even took time off to help build the ramp.

"Their store has just about adopted this family," Driskell said. "Because it's a child, it pulls on that chord, on that heartstring that dangles out there for the little ones."

On Saturday, the store employees' interest in Juan was evident. Despite freezing temperatures, volunteers were cutting wood, hammering nails, even replacing an old porch with a new one.

Lacey said getting employees to volunteer their time really wasn't hard.

"I just put a sign up sheet in the breakroom and within just a few days, we had, like, nine people sign up to help," Lacey said. She agreed with Driskell's assessment that helping a little boy made a difference for the Home Depot employees, but she said civic-mindedness is also a company priority.

"It's one of those things that we are taught from the time we come to work here," Lacey said. "It touches the heart because it's a little boy. He's in a bad situation. It's the holidays and everyone's thinking, 'Wow, what can I do to help?'" Lacey said.

Juan's mother, Rosa, speaking through an interpretor, said the kindness of strangers has been a blessing for her family. "We're very happy because so many people care about us and taking care of his needs," she said. "Right now this is a new beginning for him."