A local not-for-profit organization has found a win-win way to recycle health and education equipment.
Advancing Communities by Educating and Serving (ACES) scours the community for used non-diagnostic medical equipment, and school furnishings such as desks, chairs, whiteboards, maps and science equipment.
The donated items are shipped in a 40-foot container to the Dominican Republic, where they are distributed throughout the country to medical and educational facilities. In this way, large equipment is routed from the local landfill and distributed to projects where it is given a second life.
The next shipment is scheduled for September, and the organization is raising money to cover the $5,000 shipping cost.
A fundraiser for the project is a giant indoor yard sale Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 at the Pajama Factory, 1307 Park Ave.
Donations for the yard sale and for the shipping container are being solicited.
ACES is an organization that provides educational and medical support services in the Dominican Republic. They helped to build and fund a school for 250 students in an impoverished barrio of the capital city. They also host groups for week-long service trips where participants can assist with medical outreach and construction projects.
For more information about ACES, contact Linell Stabler at 419-1218 or visit www.acesnorthamerica.org.
