Wheelchairs - they're something we all hope to never need, but like other medical equipment, can sometimes be necessary ... and expensive. So where do you turn if you can't afford what you need?
CARE Chest of Sierra Nevada provides free medical supplies and services to Northern Nevadans in need. The non-profit agency has been serving our community for 25 years.
Jim Scripps is the Development Director at CARE Chest . “Our clients, a lot of the time, their situation is pretty precarious if they didn't have us they wouldn't have anywhere else to turn. We kinda fill the gaps between what people are insured for and what other agencies can do for them.”
The warehouse at CARE Chest is filled with medical equipment like walkers, crutches and diabetic supplies. They also provide prescription assistance, wellness education and independent living resources for people who qualify based on federal poverty levels.
Josh Childs with Lyon County Human Services says the supplies he picks up once a month from CARE Chest are invaluable to his agency. He regularly assists undernourished senior citizens in rural areas - bringing them nutrition shakes. "They feel better, within just a few minutes sometimes and for them it makes a world of a difference" says Childs.
In 25 years of services, CARE Chest has helped more than 120,000 clients - all entirely funded by community donations. Their biggest fundraiser of the year is called Executive Kidnap. Jim Scripps explains - "So what we do is we go out and grab community leaders, business people, local politicians - that sort of thing and we take them to a secret location and they do fundraising for us."
It's all in fun and has been wildly successful for 24 years running. More importantly, the event financially supports the work that CARE Chest does every day. For employees like Bill Kelderman, it means putting the clients' needs first.
"I like them to walk away with the feeling that, going away with I got something that's going to help me through the day and I walk out of here saying gee somebody really does care about me and somebody's helping me out," says Bill.
The Executive Kidnap fundraiser takes place Thursday, March 5th. Their goal this year is to raise $75,000. If you would like to donate or want more information about the services provided by CARE Chest, click on this link http://www.carechest.org/
