Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep helped popularize Iowa’s covered bridges in the film The Bridges of Madison County, but if Rotarians in Georgia, USA, had their way, there might be a movie called The Ramps of Madison County.

The Rotary Club of Madison County has built more than 320 accessibility ramps, mainly for local residents who use wheelchairs, canes, and walkers and have difficulty entering and leaving their homes.

In 1996, after Madison County Rotarian John Mallonee delivered a meal to a polio survivor whose home wasn’t wheelchair accessible, fellow club member Phil Piche suggested building a ramp to the man’s front door.

The team of about a dozen volunteers – retired businesspeople and university professors, real estate agents, a landscape architect, and a forester – led by Madison County club member Roy Gandy, constructs the ramps. And Rotarians who don’t know their way around a hammer or saw often bring drinks or serve as gofers for team members with more experience.

Most of the money for the ramps has come from club fundraisers, with the rest donated by the community and foundations. Madison County Hardware has sold lumber to the club at cost, and Weyerhaeuser has donated materials. The club has contributed about $25,000 toward the project and has helped other groups, including the Rotary clubs of Oconee County and Royston-Franklin Springs, launch similar efforts.