CRANBERRY TWP — When asked about what he will be doing several years from now, Jordan Majcan responds with determination.

“I’m going to walk,” he said.

Jordan, 17, a junior at Seneca Valley High School, was severely injured in a car crash the week of Thanksgiving, leaving him temporarily paralyzed from the waist down.

“It’s going to take time and effort, but I’m staying positive, and I know I’ll walk. I already have a ton of feeling and some movement, and I’m gaining strength back,” he said.

It has been a challenging couple of months for Jordan and his family, but they see plenty of reasons to be hopeful.

The Majcans were recently announced as the 2016 Cranberry CUP inspirational family.

Cranberry CUP, Community Uniting People, hopes not just to raise money for the family, but to get volunteers signed up and building materials donated to build a wheelchair-accessible addition to the family’s home with a new bedroom and bathroom.

The CUP will seek donations throughout the year and will hold its biggest fundraiser, which includes a softball tournament and golf tournament, Aug 5-7.

On Nov. 22, 2015, Jordan was a passenger in a Toyota Camry that was in a bad crash with a pickup truck in Slippery Rock Township, Lawrence County.

The car driver and the other passengers suffered moderate injuries that required several days of hospitalization, but Jordan’s injuries were more serious.

He had a broken jaw, which required surgery and was wired shut, and two fractured vertebrae, which also required a surgery.

After being rescued from the car by firefighters and medical technicians, he was taken to Saint Elizabeth Hospital in Youngstown, Ohio. He stayed there for three weeks before briefly going to The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. Then he went to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital and UPMC Mercy Hospital.

He came home Feb. 11 and plans to start rehabilitation soon with a specialist in Wexford.

It’s difficult to say how quickly Jordan will be able to progress through rehabilitation and regain use of his legs, but he is optimistic.

His spinal cord was not severed and he said he already has some feeling in his legs.

“I don’t really listen to the doctors because they just base everything off of statistics,” he said.

He is attending cyber school this year, but plans to return to Seneca Valley for his senior year.

Though they live in a ranch-style home, it is not equipped to accommodate a wheelchair. Among the improvements planned for the addition would be a larger bathroom with a wheelchair-accessible shower stall. It will be built in the backyard and connected to the back of the house.

Jordan’s father, Chris Majcan, said they were nominated to be the inspirational family by a co-worker.

At first they thought the CUP would help them to simply remodel their bathroom, but they were overwhelmed when they were told about the larger plans.

“It was happy tears,” he said.

At home is Chris, Jordan’s stepmother Terri Majcan and two brothers, Logan, 11, and Caden, 4. They moved to Cranberry from Zelienople about two years ago.

Eric Surman, whose family was supported by the CUP in 2010, is a contractor who will volunteer, and board member Roy Rudolph, an engineer, is working on designs.

They already have been working with the township to make sure the plans follow building codes and hope to get started with construction as soon as weather permits, Rudolph said.

They are unsure of how much money will be needed because they are hoping to get many of the supplies and materials donated.

In keeping with the mission of the CUP, the goal is to help the family get through a tough situation.

“We’re hoping to relieve the burdens and stress so they can focus on leading as normal of a life as possible,” said Cathy Cortazzo, founder and board member.

To make a donation to the CUP, visit cranberrycup.org.

Checks made out to “Cranberry CUP” can be mailed to P.O. Box 1614 Cranberry, PA 16066.