On Wednesday, November 12, a group of Humanitarian Support Foundation employees volunteered their time and effort at Medshare in Decatur in order to help get medical supplies to areas of the world where they are scarce and much needed. The evening started with an overview of what Medshare does and how they make an impact on a global scale. Medshare gathers new, unused, excess medical supplies from both hospitals and manufacturers. These supplies are sorted and inventoried, and different organizations in need of them (hospitals, hospices, etc) are able to select exactly what they need through an online system. The requested supplies are then sent to the area in need (Humanitarian Support Foundation gladly helps with the logistics of sending the supplies). This system is what makes Medshare stand in contrast to other similar programs as it minimizes waste by sending specifically what is asked for. Most of the organizations who take advantage of Medshare’s inventory are in areas of the world where having medical supplies can be the difference between life and death; a story was told of a man losing both his wife and newborn child due to the doctor in his local village not having the medical supplies needed to help them both through labor. After this sobering tale, all the volunteers at Medshare were eager to get started and contribute to this significant cause.
The evening consisted of volunteers taking boxes off of a central set of pallets and sorting the supplies within them by type and size. Supplies included gloves, masks, syringes, and gowns amongst other items. If the original boxes were damaged, the items were repackaged in new boxes and labelled appropriately. If there weren’t enough of one item to fit in a box, it would be put aside until more of those items were found to fill the box. As the night progressed, everyone worked more and more efficiently and boxes were being filled quicker and quicker. By the time all was said and done, the majority of the boxes were sorted. Excess items were put back on the pallets for the next set of volunteers to work with. Alvaro, our supervisor, told the volunteers that 237 boxes and 1,100 pounds of supplies were sorted.
Though the work might sound monotonous, it was both meaningful and enjoyable due to the company of fellow volunteers and the spirit of giving back. It was also crucial work- Medshare’s online selection and inventory system couldn’t function as it does without it. At the end of the night, the volunteers were told that the supplies they sorted would be sent to Cote D’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and other areas of West Africa. Knowing exactly where the supplies would be going gave the volunteers a true sense of the impact they made during their three hours there. The night wrapped up with the sorting area being cleaned in order for it to be presentable for the first lady of Honduras who was going to be visiting the next day. Alvaro expressed his deepest gratitude to all the volunteers, and he made sure that Humanitarian Support Foundation was given a round of applause for their role in helping with the logistics of getting Medshare containers overseas. The night was a rousing success, and Humanitarian Support Foundation looks forward to partnering with Medshare in the future.
We would like to extend our thanks to all the Humanitarian Support Foundation employees who took time out of their evening to help contribute to this cause. Though the drive was long and dinners were missed, everyone took part with a smile on their face and charity in their heart. For more information on Medshare, please visit www.medshare.org