January 24, 2020
Last week, 130 employees of Dalkia Solutions ended their regional training with a team bonding event that will make a big difference for the REquipment program inventory.
Thirteen groups of ten assembled new manual wheelchairs from boxes of component parts. They then held a relay race, maneuvering the chairs through an obstacle course egged on by cheers and popular music. The winners won bragging rights. The chairs were donated to REquipment.
Needless to say, I made sure everyone understood the impact those chairs would have for individuals and families in Massachusetts.
Last year, REquipment gave away 423 manual wheelchairs. Manual chairs are our most requested and provided device. I gave examples of who we’ve helped: a teenage girl who broke both legs snowboarding, a man undergoing dialysis, a woman recovering from a stroke.
Employees from Maine to Georgia took part in this team building program, “Wheelchairs in Motion,” offered by Team Bonding. It was a wonderful way for a company to give back and it provided a great opportunity for us to talk up DME reuse to people who can take that message up and down the East Coast.
At the end of the day, three Dalkia Solutions employees sought me out. Two were from Georgia: a man looking to donate his daughter’s adapted bike and another man who needed a power scooter. I referred them to FODAC, the largest and one of the oldest reuse programs in the country located in Stone Mountain, Georgia. The third employee was from Maine and was looking for a manual wheelchair for a veteran who was having trouble obtaining what he needs from the VA. She volunteers with Honor Mission for Veterans and I referred her to the National Pass It On Center for help finding her closest reuse program.
What will happen next with these chairs? REquipment will inspect them to ensure they were properly put together. They will be listed in our inventory in the coming days.
If you need a manual wheelchair, go to our inventory at dmerequipment.org to see if we have a wheelchair to fit your size. If you have questions, email us at info@dmereuse.org or call us at 1 800 261 9841.