Mobility equipment drive at Central Presbyterian Church in Tarentum benefits people around the globe

The lobby of Central Presbyterian Church in Tarentum is filled with items you don’t expect to see in a sanctuary.

Mobility walkers, tub chairs and canes are piled high, waiting to be collected and shipped to needy people near and far. There are at least 100 pieces of equipment.

“We’ve been doing a drive for about eight years, and people are generous,” said David Rankin, church official. “Neighbors stop in and say, ‘Hey, do you need a wheelchair?’

“We’ve become known as the church that does the mobility drive.”

Central Presbyterian partners with Global Links, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit working to improve health and wellness for people across the world. Founded in 1989, the group collects gently used surplus equipment from health care systems and local donors to support health programs in communities that lack resources.

“Community collections literally embody everything that Global Links is based on,” Executive Director Angela Garcia said.

“Keeping good items that are no longer needed out of our waste stream and instead sharing them with the people and places they are needed — this is what community collections are all about.”

Global Links partners with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, as well as in-country Ministries of Health, to learn where needs exist.

“It helps people who need the stuff but can’t afford it, regardless of where they live,” Rankin said. “It also keeps it out of the landfill.”

At Central Presbyterian, collections are organized through the church’s mission initiative called Faith Community Partners.

For several months from spring to fall, church leaders ask community members to donate gently used durable medical equipment such as walkers, crutches, manual wheelchairs and shower chairs.

Rankin said the outpouring lasts all year. It equates to thousands of dollars worth of equipment distributed to those in need.

“Each year, the collection gets bigger and bigger,” he said. “We get a ton of stuff.”