Walhonding Church of Christ collects wheelchairs to send overseas
WALHONDING – There are resources in the United States to help care for children with disabilities, but overseas that often isn’t the case.
“They aren’t always taken in and loved,” said Phil Maddux from the Walhonding Valley Church of Christ.
He has personally seen how these children are treated and wanted to make a difference in their lives.
“We are collecting medical supplies for Christian workers to use for humanitarian projects that help children with therapy,” Maddux said.
There are people willing and able to help these children, they just need the equipment to do it.
“America has a surplus of things like wheelchairs that people have out grown or were used by someone who was deceased,” Maddux said. “They are being scrapped or just sitting in garages and basements.”
The church started collecting items in June and now has 140 to 150 pieces of equipment.
“We have wheelchairs, crutches, walkers and just a lot of good therapy equipment,” Maddux said. “This has been a blessing to be part of. We want to give what we can and do what we can.”
Donations of new and used equipment are always welcome and so are monetary donations to help with shipping. It will cost about $6,000 to send one container full of supplies, but other churches and organizations across the country also are helping with that fee. Anyone with questions is encouraged to call Maddux at 575-5042.
“We will take items that are broken and fix them up because we want to be able to send over good, solid stuff,” Maddux said.
The church also is looking for a building to store the items they collect and be able to work on those that need repaired.
“We don’t want to stop with this shipment,” he said. “We want to continue to do this as long as the Lord blesses us and allows us to.”
About 15-20 people from the church gathered together Nov. 2, to help with the service project.
“It’s nice to see everyone pulling together for a common cause,” said Pastor Rick Lumbatis. “The Lord has opened doors for us and this has been amazing to be involved with.”
josie@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
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