On Tuesday, October 15th, a group of 27 Penn State Shenango students rolled up their sleeves to volunteer at the Horizon Foundation’s Medical Equipment Recycling Program facility in Farrell, Pennsylvania. The students are part of Penn State’s Physical Therapist Assistant Club and welcomed the opportunity to perform some community service in support of MERP.
The students had the opportunity to meet MERP’s staff and learn more about the program’s mission, resources, and impact in the community as it loans out equipment like wheelchairs, walkers, shower chairs or similar devices to area residents in need. They then had the opportunity to spend several hours assisting MERP’s staff and volunteers with a variety of tasks. Students assembled storage carts, sanitized and organized medical equipment, swept and mopped floors, and cleaned windows.
Gizelle Dean, the PTA club advisor, said that as a practicing physical therapist, she has seen the benefits that MERP offers to the residents of the local community. “Without MERP, residents may lack the necessary medical equipment following a surgical intervention or a medical issue. Not only does the program serve local residents, it also makes a positive environmental impact by preventing medical equipment from being unnecessarily discarded. Our students are grateful for the wonderful community service opportunity and will be able to share information about the program with the patients they care for in the future.”
Adam Nowland, the Foundation’s Director, says MERP is grateful for the support. “Students from Penn State Shenango have been volunteering to help at MERP for years, and our team is always so excited to have them help out. There’s never a shortage of work to do, so every eager volunteer is an asset to our work. We are extremely thankful that each of these students, and Gizelle, gave their time and energy to serving our community in such a meaningful way.”
The Foundation and MERP offer their thanks to each of the students who volunteered: Nick Rodocoy, Garrett Thumm, Melissa Demattio, Brandon Matlock, Morgan Orr, Crystal Sponsler, Emily Gordon, Grace Moore, Patrick Connacher, Linda-Kay Zoky, Alaina Donadio, Courtney Patterson, Sean Stephens, Gianna Cicchillo, Ryan Gordon, Ryan Kopcial, Ryan Ford, Malia Baney, Sydney Ward, Katelyn Johnson, Kaiden Roberts, Emily Dick, Garret Smith, Ryan Kurtz, Kelly Green, Amber Sefton, Cailey Connelly, Gizelle Dean (Program Director)
