MAFFRA Lions Club has disability equipment available for loan to help those in need.

They are free, but monetary donations to the club are welcome.

Mobility scooters can be hired for $5 a week, with the club performing maintenance work such as replacing tyres and batteries.

Coordinator of disability equipment, Laurie Baker, said the equipment had been donated by families and those in the community.

“Donations also came from Jack Kelly’s Shed and the much-respected Maffra church volunteer Peter Smythe OAM, who started (this initiative) many long years ago when the bush nurse centres up in the east didn’t have equipment,” Mr Baker said.

“He started to collect and donate them. He handed them over to the Lions Club two years ago.”

Mr Baker said a personal highlight was when he and Lion’s Club member Hans Vos delivered an electric recliner armchair to Maffra woman Julie Patterson.

“After receiving this chair we received a phone call from the physio department in Sale, who had a client in Maffra waiting on a hip replacement, who also had a hearing impairment disability,” Mr Baker said.

“To see the lovely smile that came upon her face when the physio showed her how to use it was a delight.”

The armchair was donated by Alan and Elsie Pleming.

Mr Baker said donations of more equipment weren’t needed at this time.

“We’ve got the equivalent of a double garage full of equipment at this stage. We want to advertise to let people know that we’ve got it so it gets out there,” he said.

“Thank you very much for the generosity of families and friends and people who donated the goods to us.

“We’re happy to go out there and serve our community, whether it’s Maffra, Sale, Heyfield, Stratford, Briagolong, Newry, wherever it might be. It doesn’t matter,” he said.

 

The range of equipment available is:

Electric reclining arm chairs;

Single electric bed;

Wheelchairs;

Wheeling walkers;

Walking frames;

Crutches;

Toilet seats;

Shower seats or stools, and;

Bars to assist people out of bed.

 

Mr Baker can be reached on 5141 1640 or 0438 411 640 or you can phone club president Graham Faravoni on 0470 609 567 and Geoff Giggins (who services mobility scooters) on 0428 812 341.

Julie Patterson with her husband (left) and Laurie Baker (right). Photo: Contributed