Youth Make Fast Work at Warehouse

Friendship Alliance Youth recycle at the warehouse

Ten youth from Friendship Alliance Church in Auburn, Ohio came and worked in our recycle section on May 19 as part of a weekend event to explore and identify with those in need.

After sleeping over in tents back at the church, these hard workers skipped breakfast and lunch and worked our recycle piles of broken steel and aluminum rollators, diminishing them into neat containers of reusable parts and recyclable metals.

Over 50 rollators were recycled! These youths worked fast and made their fasting work!

Juice fast, check. Water fast, check … cleaner?

Mike Mager and his wife Nicole are both Physical Therapists and youth group leaders, and learned about the ministry of Wheels of Hope through Hattie Larlham Foundation, where Wheels of Hope collects wheelchairs and equipment no longer needed by their patients.

Mike Mager pulls apart a rollator.

Half the youth worked with Mike in the workshop, taking apart the aluminum rollators.

Sam and Morgan part out  a broken rollator.

Mike J. works on a reusable wheel.

While the other half tackled the steel rollators out on the warehouse floor disassembling in “Majority World” style.

Claire, Kelly, Bren and David get down and work hard!

… while Emily-the-industrious supervises the gang to bring order out of chaos!

After enough frames were stripped, the group learned how to stack, shrink wrap and palletize them for delivery to a local scap metals dealer.

Kelly, Mike and Morgan wrap it up!

Mike and Sam find a staging spot.

These youth did truly amazing work in the 6 hours they each gave in service to Wheels of Hope and those in need! Re-using and recycling is the main reason Wheels of Hope is able to collect free wheelchairs for those in need who have no means to purchase a wheelchair in developing nations overseas.

Many of them are planning on going to Nicaragua this summer to work with the Messiah Project and the Land of Judah orphanage. Wheels of Hope is working with PTs Mike and Nicole on equipping part of the orphanage for children with disabilities, bringing hope to the helpless.

Amazing trails bring aid to Kenya

Our friends Mike and Evey Williams are currently in Kenya, bringing Wheels of Hope equipment to those in need in remote places. Read Evey’s blog post at Thankyou Kenya

Below is Pastor Timothy balancing an Invacaare chair, reconditioned by volunteers at our Canton warehouse, on the trail to an elderly patient. Mike was on the trail behind Evey (who took the photo) with a bedside commode!

Here, the elderly woman is presented with her chair. In typical Kenyan generosity, she presented Evey with a live chicken as an expression of her gratitude!

Next, Pastor Timothy presents the very useful bedside commode, which will make it possible for her to use with assistance. The assistant could no longer help her use the typical squatting-style toilet.

And the best part is how Mike is training Pastor Timothy and others to repair the equipment they’ve distributed!