In mid-December, a new type of library was launched in Stamford, Connecticut. Wheel It Forward is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run community organization, founded by Stamford resident Elliot Sloyer, that offers a convenient way to borrow or donate durable medical equipment (DME). Wheel It Forward is open to residents of Fairfield County, Connecticut, and neighboring towns in New York State.

Elliot Sloyer is a former hedge fund manager, co-founder of GoTo.com and author of the “Summer Camp Stories” children’s picture book series. While chaperoning the Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy’s eighth-grade class on a month-long trip to Israel in January, 2018, the group visited Yad Sarah—an organization founded in a basement over 40 years ago that lends out DME. Last year Yad Sarah, which is run by over 6,000 volunteers, loaned out 400,000 pieces of DME, which is significantly more than similar organizations in the US have done, even though the population of the US is 40 times greater than the population of Israel. Sloyer’s experience with the kids was “awesome,” but the inspiration he felt after visiting Yad Sarah continued to resonate with him.

Sloyer realized, “There was an incredible opportunity to do three powerful things with one new idea—meaningfully help improve people’s lives, measurably save individuals and society a tremendous amount of money and also help save the planet.”

He explained, “The average piece of DME has a lifespan of five to 10 years, but is used for four months. At the same time, the out-of-pocket cost for DME is proportionally four times greater than the out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs, making DME unaffordable for many people.”

This led Sloyer to wonder: “Wouldn’t it be great if there was a ‘place’ or brand where the vast supply of lightly used DME could connect with the even greater demand for free, sanitized and well-maintained DME?”

Wheel It Forward has a dedicated board composed of eight people with diverse backgrounds and a history of success. They are individuals with experience in business, law, finance, healthcare and space and technology. As more and more people became aware of Wheel It Forward, they received offers of help. Alan Kalter, the voice of “Late Night with David Letterman,” is the voice of Wheel It Forward on the company’s voicemail system, with Kalter volunteering his time. A local organization that helps people with disabilities acquire job skills sends a team to sanitize collected equipment and helps with logistics, also on a volunteer basis.

Sloyer defines Wheel It Forward as a community library. “Over the last few years the concept of ‘library of things’ has proliferated around the US. Tool libraries, camping libraries and toy libraries have become popular. For Jewish people, the concept of a gemach has existed for a long time, but it’s starting to go mainstream to benefit entire cities and towns. The DME lending space is, indeed, a library. In fact, it is the first DME lending library that allows a borrower to join a library, view the inventory, reserve equipment, sign a liability release and make a suggested donation if they’d like, all online.”

In October, Sloyer began collecting DME to determine if, indeed, there was supply, with the intention of not lending things out until the organization was officially launched. Storing the items in his own two-car garage, it was quickly packed with new or like-new equipment.

“People who needed things like wheelchairs, hospital beds, etc. started to find me and I couldn’t say ‘no.’” The library was up and running, and given temporary space in the Stamford Government Center right off I-95, which is where Wheel It Forward collects, sanitizes, stores and distributes its equipment. A group of volunteers is on-call to pick up and deliver equipment, of course maintaining social distance. The organization is currently looking for more permanent space.

Wheel It Forward found that people who have DME that is in excellent condition and no longer needed are happy to find they can donate to the organization. Volunteers also peruse Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and offerup trying to locate no-longer-needed DME to add to Wheel It Forward’s growing stockpile. The organization offers sellers free pick-up and a tax receipt, which most are happy to accept as payment. In the month of November, just two months into its “soft-launch,” over 70 people reached out to donate or borrow equipment. Currently, the organization receives more offers of donations, but many are reaching out to borrow as well. Sloyer believes that within the next three months Wheel It Forward won’t be able to keep up with demand for certain items like wheelchairs, knee scooters, hospital beds and other DME.

Wheel It Forward operates on a shoestring budget, with volunteers providing services and contributions. The Board has been financing the operation by covering expenses related to insurance, sanitizing supplies and other necessities. A fundraising plan will ultimately be rolled out, as there is no charge to borrowers for the DME.

Soyer explained, “A community library only works with the support of the community and we are confident that support will be there for a project that helps so many and literally pays for itself in individual and societal costs. The benefits we produce are easily measurable.”

The company’s 18-month goal is to create a “franchise book” that can be shared with other communities around the US.

“Wheel It Forward,” Sloyer said, “needs to be viewed as a community library so that everybody knows about it, everybody uses it when they need it, and everybody can support it. That’s what makes traditional libraries successful and such a powerful idea.”

Sloyer shared a few heartwarming stories with The Jewish Link. One of Wheel It Forward’s volunteers read a Facebook post about someone needing a hospital bed and contacted the family. A mom explained that her son, who has cerebral palsy, needed a hospital bed, which was not covered by Medicaid. When the parents arrived with a trailer, Wheel It Forward provided a hospital bed, a transport wheelchair and ramp, the equipment worth over $2,500. Explaining that dad’s paycheck would arrive the next day, the couple wanted to return with a small donation. They were told that was completely unnecessary and hoped the equipment could help improve their son’s quality of life.

“As you can see,” said Sloyer, “We’re also helping the planet. This equipment would have ended up in a landfill if not for what our team is doing.”

In Sloyer’s Stamford community, where he has lived for over 25 years and is a member of Congregation Agudath Sholom, he doesn’t often hear the expression “God bless you.” Now, however, he is finding that both borrowers and donors of equipment are using the simple words “God bless you” to show their tremendous gratitude to the volunteers at Wheel it Forward for the compassionate work that they are doing.

For more information on donating or borrowing DME, or to make a donation, visit WheelitForwardUSA.org, email [email protected] or call 203-652-8600.