Back in October, Newtown gained a new kind of library: Wheel It Forward, a durable medical equipment (DME) lending library.

Elliot Sloyer, one of the founders of Wheel It Forward, founded the organization in 2020 after chaperoning a trip to Israel. During that trip, Sloyer learned about Yad Sarah, an organization with over 7,000 volunteers that provides a vital array of compassionate health and home care services for people of all ages.

The first Wheel It Forward branch opened in October 2020 in Stamford. It rented out just three items that month. The next was ten items, and in the following month the Wheel It Forward team lent out 20 items. Now, the Stamford location lends three to 400 items a month.

While the Newtown location is still growing, the group of volunteers help about 20 people a month consistently, with a steady flow of 25 to 30 people donating items a month. The operation is currently set up within three different storage units at Blue Rock Storage, 12 Commerce Road. The first storage unit is where borrowers meet volunteers, learn about equipment, and rent items out. The other two units are used as extra storage and as an area to properly clean and sanitize all items that are donated. Each item Wheel It Forward receives is thoroughly inspected and cleaned.

Newtown has received so many donated pieces of DME that volunteers have had to share some of the items with the Stratford location. Wheel It Forward Newtown is still looking for more borrowers and more donors, however.

Wheel It Forward is currently seeking donations from Newtown residents and neighbors to secure a new lending library location. The Jeniam Foundation has agreed to match every donation received up to $10,000.

“The goal was always to start off here, which is a self-storage location … but ultimately we knew that probably, a year out, we would want our own standalone space, which is a little easier to navigate,” Sloyer said.

The fundraiser “match challenge,” as the volunteers are putting it, opened March 1 and will continue to April 30. As Sloyer put it, “Our goal is to not go to sleep at night until we raise $10,000, and we will not falter, we will not fail.”

Donations are accepted through a Give Butter website, and can be accessed by going to givebutter.com/help-us-find-a-permanent-home-in-newtown. Checks can also be dropped off at the current operation at Blue Rock Storage. Sloyer hopes to have a permanent location in Newtown by the end of this summer.

Sue Hatch, operations manager for the Newtown branch, pointed out that while the current setup at Blue Rock is great, key amenities are missing, like a bathroom, and this bitterly cold winter has left volunteers chilly as they work.

Despite the cold conditions, Newtown volunteers have not stopped showing up for Wheel It Forward.

Volunteer Testimony

Sloyer said, “We started our Bridgeport/Stratford branch about two years ago, and we started [the Newtown] branch about four months ago … we have more volunteers in Newtown than in Bridgeport.” He noted that the amount of volunteers has been “inspiring.”

Hatch said working for Wheel It Forward has been “wonderful.”

“Everybody that comes is thankful and appreciative, and it just feels good to be able to help every day. Like, it feels good to make a difference,” Hatch added. She said a lot of donors feel good about donating their DME because they know it is expensive and what they purchased will not just be thrown out.

Hatch continued on this point, “And if a loved one passed away, they’re kinda attached to [the equipment], so it makes them feel better, almost help[s] people with closure to know we’re wheeling it forward, giving it to somebody else who can use it.”

One of the other Friday morning volunteers, Sally Cox, said that was how she felt when donating her mother’s DME. Cox trained with Al Stockalis, the “logistics guy,” on how to properly clean and sanitize the equipment. Cox shared that she is a retired nurse and is well-versed in the equipment on hand at Wheel It Forward.

“It’s a very worthy cause,” Cox said. “All the different things that go into homecare,” she trailed off for a moment, “It is [a lot].”

Amy Potucek, an avid recycler, is very happy to see the DME getting recycled rather than thrown into the landfill. She noted that she works with a great group of volunteers, and loves that the borrowers are saving money on DME costs.

Mike Salvatore said his volunteerism with Wheel It Forward was suggested by his wife; while he thinks it is just her way of getting him out of the house, he does believe in the mission.

“We all know how expensive this stuff can be, even to rent let alone buy,” Salvatore began, “So, to be able to give out this kind of equipment, it’s a blessing for a lot of people … The giving back, I’ve always believed in it, I’ve always done it.” Then he turned the spotlight on his fellow volunteers: “These guys are just great to work with. You know? We get here, it’s a little chilly, we start doing things, we start laughing. They’ve all got great personalities, and they’re just really easy to work with.”

Debbie Molsick, a retired physical therapist, said she has “always thrived on helping people.” Working with Wheel It Forward has been another way to “satisfy that need” to help people. She thinks this lending library is a “much needed” service.

While she was working as a physical therapist, she said she always tried to pass equipment along to keep it out of the landfill, so when Wheel It Forward came to town, it was “the perfect match.” Much like Salvatore, Molsick said it keeps her out of her husband’s hair.

Salvatore chimed in at the end of Molsick’s comments, “We love ‘er. She tells us what this stuff is!”

Potucek added, “And how to use it!”

Stockalis, the “logistics guy,” as mentioned previously, does a lot for the Newtown branch. He does drop-offs and pickups as needed and does most of the cleaning and sanitizing.

“We have had a great response from the community. People are thrilled to have someplace to donate equipment that they don’t need anymore,” Stockalis said. “It’s always interesting because when they come in, we talk to them a little bit and they always go out with a little more than they thought they were going to need.”

All the volunteers on Friday’s crew seem to have similar thoughts: they all love to give back to the Newtown community and love the people they are working with.

Why Wheeling It Forward Matters

Hatch wants Newtown to know that at some point, “Everybody needs this stuff. And everybody should have access to it.”

Salvatore said, “It’s universal.”

Potucek added a lot of young people stop in because they had surgery or broke something in, for example, a sports accident.

Cox said that while one person may not need Wheel It Forward’s services, “certainly you will know someone, a neighbor, or a friend,” who does. Cox continued her point, saying that people may not even be aware of how much or what types of equipment they need. Which is why, as Hatch pointed out, the volunteers at Wheel It Forward make such a difference, because so many of them are retired healthcare professionals or have had personal experiences with using DME.

“There’s no other service like it in the area. I think that’s an important piece,” Stockalis said. As Sloyer put it, Wheel It Forward is the only library that lends out independence.

Sloyer said the dream behind Wheel It Forward is, “One day, every town in America has two kinds of libraries: one library that lends out books, the other that lends out home medical equipment. And the reason that second library is important is because way more of us will need to borrow and/or donate home medical equipment at some point in our loves than will ever walk into a library that lends out books … The truth is that 100% of us are going to need this type of equipment at some point in our lives.”

Newtown’s Wheel It Forward branch is currently operating by appointment only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 10 am-3 pm. For more information go to wheelitforwardusa.org, or call 203-652-8600.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.