No longer need that walker, wheelchair or commode? Caring Hearts Lending Closet accepts donations
SPRINGFIELD >> Karin Kennedy of Media saw a disconnect in the community. While working as a physical therapist and volunteering at The Free Store in Media, Kennedy noticed an overflow of perfectly good medical equipment that patients no longer needed once they recovered. She also knew about people in the community who needed durable medical equipment, but they either couldn’t afford it, or their insurance wouldn’t cover it. She decided to forge a connection.
Kennedy, a resident of Media and member of The Blue Church in Springfield, went to the congregation of her church and asked if she could use empty space in the church basement to store donations. Thankfully, with the blessing of church members, the Caring Hearts Lending Closet was born.
Since 2016, Kennedy and a handful of other volunteers, including Rob and Margie Holber of Media, accept donations of crutches, walkers, wheelchairs, shower chairs, unused diabetic supplies, commodes, nebulizers, ice bags, diapers, peritoneal dialysis drainage bags, instant ice packs, canes, bed pads, chucks, wound supplies, braces, Urostomy bags, boots, bed pads, wipes, tubing and more.
Donors who have durable medical equipment lying around their garage, basement or spare room, now have an opportunity to not only help a neighbor in need, but also to help the planet by reusing, rather than tossing items into the trash to end up in a landfill.
Thanks to Kennedy’s vision, Karin Kennedy of Media stands in front of a sea of walkers and crutches at the Caring Hearts Lending Closet inside The Blue Church in Springfield. Kennedy founded the closet as a place where community members can donate medical equipment that they no longer need or want so people who do need it can get it free of charge. the Caring Hearts Lending Closet (CHLC), 940 Baltimore Pike, has not only taken root in the community, but continues to grow, collecting more donations and helping more people get the equipment that they need at no cost to them.
No longer working as a physical therapist, Kennedy is now employed by Sacred Heart Academy in Bryn Mawr as a data base administrator. Busy raising her three children, Kennedy said she wishes that she had even more time to donate to the mission. She’s grateful for any and all helping hands from volunteers.
According to Kennedy, the Lending Closet’s mission is to lend or distribute reusable medical equipment to the community, saving expenses and the environment, while serving God and others. The Closet provides reusable and occasionally single-use equipment to anyone in need, regardless of financial status. Their inventory is all donated. They only ask that when equipment is no longer needed, people pass it on or donate it back so it can continue to help others. Donations can be second hand, but Kennedy asks donors to make sure the items are clean.
There’s no room in the Lending Closet to accept hospital beds, chair lifts and other extremely large medical equipment. However, if someone wants to donate an item like this or requests a large item, Kennedy will attempt to make a direct connection between the donor and recipient. Also, if CHLC does not have an item a person is searching for, Kennedy will try and find it for them. Recently, she reached out to the Aston Lions Club for a wheelchair for someone, when the CHLC inventory was low on wheelchairs.
Transition Town Media (TTM), a registered 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, is Caring Hearts Lending Closet’s fiscal sponsor, although CHLC operates independently under TTM’s umbrella. The Media Free Store also operates under the TTM umbrella and often will contact Kennedy to let her know if donations of medical equipment arrive.
Kennedy said the volunteer position at the Lending Closet is very rewarding, knowing she has made many people live better lives once they acquire the equipment they need on the road to recovery or to cope with a disability or illness.
“This stuff is expensive,” she said. “Often insurance companies don’t approve it and a person is relieved and happy to find us and get the equipment or item that he or she needs.”
Individuals can take equipment, to keep for good, or return when done, without any contracts.
Although The Blue Church has graciously given Caring Hearts Lending Closet the complimentary space to operate, the Lending Closet is not affiliated with the church. Kennedy and the other volunteers coordinate all donations and inquiries for medical equipment.
Drop-off and pick-up hours are 9-11 a.m. on Sundays at the blue doors on the side entrance of the church, and Wednesday, from 10-11 a.m. All other CHLC hours are by appointment only, on a case-by-case basis. The CHLC will not accept medications or oxygen tanks. Donations should be clean, in good condition, unexpired, and reusable.
“I’m finally doing, what I think I was meant to be doing,” Kennedy stated. “Looking back on everything, it’s obvious to me that it was all led by God and I’m glad I was listening!”
To request medical equipment or to drop off donations or inquire about volunteer opportunities, contact Caring Hearts Lending Closet through their Facebook page or email chlendingcloset@gmail.com/.