VOSH Technology Transfer Program (TTP) actively seeks equipment donation that can live a second life in needy clinics, teaching institutions, hospitals and NGOs worldwide. But collecting local equipment sometimes means finding a temporary home before it heads to VOSH TTP storage in Arizona.
Recently Dr. John Oplowski and his wife Liz closed his Niles clinic to move on to a new adventure: practicing from a mobile van that takes eye care directly to corporate employees. The Oplowskis were excited to donate $20K of exam equipment to the VOSH TTP program that just didn’t fit in the van. Their generous donation required pick up and temporary storage until the VOSH TTP Arizona could get to Chicagoland for pickup.
That’s the moment I volunteered to pick up and store it. Of course, I only had a truck rented at this point. Kevin Reilly came into the office and I was explaining what I had planned for the next day and he, without hesitation, offered to help. I called a couple friends and the four of us drove out to Niles, retrieved the equipment and took it to our local VOSH storage in Rogers Park.
People like to help; it’s real and generosity is alive and well. From the Oplowski’s donation to Kevin’s unstinting offer to “have friends + truck,” I see a community working locally for a 20/20 global mission.
This equipment will most likely go to a sustainable clinic or a beginning school of optometry in Latin America.
Learn more about VOSH TTP here.
