Jessica Rempel lives with the reality of not being able to use her legs every day.

The 19-year-old was born with spina bifida. She has never been able to walk and relies on a wheelchair to get around.

"I don't really get to run around with my friends, play sports, so that part kind of makes me sad,” she said.

The teen was honoured with a new specialized wheelchair at Holy Cross School in Winnipeg on Thursday. The high-tech wheels will give her the ability to maneuver hard to reach places and be more mobile than she was with her regular chair.

“It will make it a lot easier for me to get around the house, reach cupboards, get into higher stuff, because it elevates,” she said.

The wheels were purchased for her by the Tabs for Wheel Chair project, which has given out a total of 17 chairs over the last two decades.

Funds raised for the specialized wheelchairs have all been gathered through the donation of tabs from soft drink cans. The project said 14 million were collected this year for Rempel’s chair.

“When you see that individual receive her chair, it’s worth everything,” organizer Gwen Buccini said. “It teaches us that we are very fortunate to be able to walk and talk and do all the kind of things that many of our recipients have not been able to do.”

Grade 10 student, Delaney Kolowca, lost the use of her legs at the age of 14 because of scoliosis. The project also announced Thursday that she would be next year's wheelchair recipient.

“It’s going to be awesome that I’ll be having a chair that will help me move around more and be more independent,” she said.

People can donate tabs by bringing them directly to Holy Cross School, or they can email Buccini at tabsforwheelchairs@hotmail.com.