Another year has passed, but 2009 was not just another year for MedShare. It also marked 10 years of MedShare bridging the gap between surplus and need. TEN years of recovering surplus medical materials from hospitals and medical supply companies, thus saving them from being sent to landfills. TEN years of dedicated volunteers spending thousands of service hours sorting and repackaging life-saving medical supplies. TEN years of shipping forty-foot containers filled with these vital medical supplies and equipment to needy health facilities throughout the developing world. TEN years of outfitting medical mission teams with medical supplies for their l service work abroad.
Most importantly are the lives touched, and all of this equals 10 years of impacting millions of people’s lives. These 10 years would not be possible without committed supporters like you.
We enter 2010 with a reflection on MedShare’s 2009 highlights:
- Our 500th forty-foot container of medical supplies and equipment was shipped. The shipment was sponsored by our newly-formed Southeastern Regional Council and was sent to benefit Santa Rosa Maternity Hospital in Ecuador;
- In the midst of a tough economic season, 76 forty-foot containers of medical supplies and equipment worth more than $10 million were prepared and shipped to 27 countries;
- 254 Medical Mission Teams provided medical supplies for their medical work abroad;
- 10,099 volunteers spent an astounding 37,257 hours sorting and repackaging recovered medical supplies;
- 2009 marked the one year anniversary of our Western Region Distribution Center in San Leandro, California;
- A $500,000 capital campaign challenge grant claimed to complete the purchase and endowment of our National Headquarters and Southeastern Distribution Center, and make some much needed technology improvements;
- A mobile CT Scanner was donated to our Western Region Distribution by Catalina Imaging. This was the largest single medical equipment donation MedShare has ever received. The scanner was shipped to Zimbabwe where there had previously been only two operating CT scanners in the whole country;
- The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation awarded MedShare a $400,000 grant, the largest program grant we’ve ever received in a given year;
- We were a Waste Reduction Awards Program(WRAP) recipient from the State of California;
- MedShare was a finalist in the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Environmental Business Awards and the San Francisco Business Times Green Business Awards;
- Charity Navigator named us the top charity providing humanitarian relief supplies;
- We also ranked #2 on Charity Navigator’s Top Ten list of Highly-Rated Charities Relying on Private Contributions and #2 on their Top Ten list of Slam Dunk Charities.
Yes, indeed, 2009 was a banner year for MedShare!
