Donations to go to non-profit group Your ReSource
By: Lacey Korevec
Old crutches and wheelchairs collecting dust in basements and garages can be put to good use this month.
Cranbury’s Human Services Board will be collecting used medical equipment that’s still in working condition on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the First Presbyterian Church parking lot, 22 S. Main St., Cranbury.
Items that are needed include manual wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, shower chairs, commodes, tray tables and grab bars, and hospital beds, as well as unused boxed supplies like rubber gloves, cotton balls and gauze pads.
Donations will go to Your ReSource, a nonprofit human service and environmental organization located in Ewing, where members of the Community Access to Rehabilitation Equipment program will work to refurbish them before giving the donated items to those in need.
Cranbury resident Ann Gordon, who has attended several Human Services Board meetings, presented the idea to the board. She said the equipment drive is a threefold concept for Cranbury.
"It helps people get rid of the unwanted used medical equipment," she said. "It helps our environment by not putting these things in the landfill. And thirdly, it goes to people who really need this equipment, most of whom don’t have medical insurance in the Trenton area. That’s why we wanted to do it."
Those who miss the drop-off date but still have equipment to donate can simply put items out on their home doorsteps Saturday, Nov. 11, before 9 a.m. Cranbury Boy Scouts have volunteered to go door to door and collect them.
After Nov. 11, residents who still want to donate should contact Your ReSource by calling (609) 530-1513, Your ReSource Director Geri LaPlaca said, adding that anyone in need of equipment should call as well.
"I am very excited and pleased that Cranbury has taken the initiative with Ms. Gordon’s direction to sponsor this collection drive," Ms. LaPlaca said. "It’s a great way for the community to help their neighbors by giving away equipment that they no longer need by not throwing it in the Dumpster."
This is the first year Cranbury has done this type of drive. Ms. Gordon said she read about Your ReSource in an article in The Trenton Times and mentioned the drive to the board, which agreed to make it a project.
"I was so impressed with what I read and what they were doing that I called them up and made the suggestion that we help them by running a drive in Cranbury," she said. "The human services board thought it was a great idea to meet the needs of the seniors and people in town who need to get rid of this equipment that’s still usable."
Ms. LaPlaca said she urges people to donate because there is a great need for equipment in this area.
"There’s over a million people in New Jersey with no health insurance," Ms. LaPlaca said. "And they are people that are in need of this equipment."

