December 8, 2017
Together we’ve made such an impact. Since April of 2013, REquipment has given away 2,119 pieces of durable medical equipment–valued at over $4 million!–to individuals with disabilities, seniors and families in Massachusetts communities. Still, we know there is much more to do.
There are kids like Ricky, a 10-year-old homeless boy with a degenerative skeletal disease AND a broken leg when his aunt found our program this past summer. Getting around with a manual wheelchair while awaiting surgery was not an option because manual chairs were too difficult for him to push. We provided him with a pediatric power wheelchair and connected his family with the AT Regional Center in Worcester to borrow a portable ramp so he could get in and out of his aunt’s home while recuperating from surgery. Thanks to our community of programs and donors, Ricky was able to cruise around independently and he and his aunt could not be happier: “He absolutely loves the chair,” she wrote Stavros CIL, our partner, who delivered the equipment. “I took him to Quabbin Dam on the way home and he was amazed at all the places he could go now.”
There are also couples like the elderly woman and her husband we assisted recently. She was home following a stroke and rehabilitation and needed both the transport chair Medicare had purchased that was light enough for her husband to lift, and a wheelchair with rims so she could push independently. Medicare, however, would not purchase a second chair, so it was REquipment to the rescue! We provided a manual wheelchair to support her independence at home, and she still uses the transport chair for traveling.
Often we hear from people who need more than one mobility device and have no insurance coverage to pay for it. Your donations of gently-used medical equipment and funding for operations means more Massachusetts seniors are living independently in their own homes and more children like Ricky get what they need when they need it most.
Help us continue our mission! Remember REquipment with your end-of-year giving. REquipment is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and contributions are fully tax deductible. DONATE here (via pay pal or credit card) or send a check to REquipment, PO Box 311, Methuen, MA 01844. A tax donation receipt will be provided. If you shop on Amazon, don’t forget to choose REquipment for all your Smile.Amazon purchases. To donate equipment, please complete the online donation form or call 1-800-261-9841 for assistance.
Thank you for supporting access to refurbished gently-used durable medical equipment. Together we are doing the most obvious thing in the world: keeping valuable equipment out of landfills and in the hands of people with disabilities, families and seniors who can use it now.