Each day wheelchairs, wagons and strollers are used to move hundreds of small patients and their belongings around Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.
The heavy use had left the wheelchairs due for a good cleaning. But finding the staff and facility to perform the scrub-downs was difficult.
"We wipe down the equipment with hospital-grade disinfectant after every use, but we never had the capability to do an actual wheelchair wash," hospital Family Service Manager Melinda Malek said.
Enter Tiffany Richter, a Sussex resident who had taken her son to Children's Hospital because he had swollen lymph nodes. Her little boy was given an all-clear by doctors, but the staff's caring demeanor and patience were not lost on Richter.
"We were fortunate that he was OK, but you think of all the kids who are not and the families that have to deal with that," she said.
Looking to help out
When she started taking a leadership class that required a community service project, she knew she wanted to help the hospital.
Her first idea, to hold a prom for sick teens was nixed. The swine flu outbreak forced the hospital to put restrictions on who could enter the facility. Plus, to volunteer inside the hospital, Richter would have had to go through training and make a regular time commitment.
"We're really working to find one-time opportunities for people to help out," Malek said.
So Richter organized a wheelchair wash, which was held Sunday at Wauwatosa Fire Station 3, just a few blocks from the hospital on Watertown Plank Road. The water hookup, hoses and drain inside the equipment bay made for an ideal spot to do the cleaning, she said.
The Fire Department welcomed the volunteers because "this is the community's fire house," said firefighter Michel DeLisle, who along with her two daughters, pitched in to help clean.
Robertson Ace Hardware donated all the cleaning supplies, and Pick 'n Save gave cookies and bottled water to the volunteers.
Nearly 100 people, including children who would be too young to volunteer inside the hospital, showed up to help. Volunteers worked in an assembly line. Wheelchairs - Malek estimates there 100 to 150 chairs were brought to the event - were unloaded from a delivery truck and given an initial rinse to remove any solid materials that could scratch the equipment. Each chair was scrubbed with soap and disinfectant, rinsed off and dried with air compressor before being loaded back on the truck.
Malek was so impressed by the process that would like to see wheelchair washes done on a quarterly basis.
"I was so humbled by the showing of support from the community," Malek said.
A call to lead
The experience taught Richter that she was good at taking a large project and organizing it, right down to the minute details. She wants to use her skills to guide others who might see a need in the community but are unsure how to go about filling it, so she started Helpinghandangels.com.
Already, she has heard from someone who wants to do a crayon drive to benefit children in third-world countries, and another fundraiser - this time a clothing swap - is planned for Children's Hospital.
"People want to go out and do good things, but they don't know where to go to make it happen," she said.
AT A GLANCE
WHAT: Helping Hand Angels will hold a clothing swap with all proceeds going to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.
WHEN: People can drop-off gently used or never-worn adult and children's clothing, accessories, shoes and purses Dec. 2 to 4. The swap will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Dec. 6.
WHERE: Radisson Hotel, W24140 Tower Place, Pewaukee
HOW: Bring items to drop-off, then on the day of the sale pick out the same number of items to take home.
COST: $10 for adults, $3 per child ages 2 to 16.
CONTACT: Registration is required by calling Tiffany Richter at (262) 844-9553 or e-mailing tiffany@
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