Vandergrift Lions Club member's volunteer efforts help those in need of medical supplies
A West Leechburg man has gone above and beyond in his volunteer efforts to help people when their health circumstances make mobility difficult.
Robb Yasczak, 46, has been a member of the Vandergrift Lions Club for almost 20 years. He is a co-organizer of the Lions’ gently used hospital supplies donation program.
The Lions Club offers free supplies, such as wheelchairs, hospital beds, shower chairs, potty chairs, crutches and walkers, to anyone requesting assistance.
Most of the requests come from residents of Leechburg, Vandergrift, East Vandergrift, West Leechburg and Apollo. The program is the only one offered by a Lions Club in Westmoreland County.
“Sometimes wheelchairs can be $300 to $1,000, depending on the wheelchairs,” Yasczak said.
The large inventory of supplies is stored in the former Henry’s TV & Appliance store along Mckinley Avenue in East Vandergrift.
One woman recently sought help because she couldn’t make it up the steps anymore to get to her bedroom. She was given a home hospital bed.
“If you had to try and buy a bed, it’s probably at the $1,000 range,” Yasczak said.
The Lions Club even has a bariatric wheelchair in its inventory that can accommodate a person weighing up to 1,000 pounds.
The most in-demand items are shower chairs and walkers, Yasczak said.
The other co-organizers of the donation program are Stan Borokoski and Yasczak’s father, Henry Yasczak.
To date, the trio has helped serve more than 500 people in the Alle-Kiski Valley.
Henry Yasczak remembers a work call in Parks Township where he met a homeowner who was using an old, damaged walker.
He offered to assist with delivery of a fully functioning walker and delivered it to the homeowner the next day.
“It feels good helping,” Henry Yasczak said. “He was thrilled. It gave him much more mobility, and he could go out with it.”
The Yasczaks estimated the cost of a new walker at $100 to $200.
“A lot of people can’t afford to buy and sometimes you have to rent, and sometimes insurance won’t pay for it,” Robb Yasczak said.
He graduated from Leechburg Area High School in 1994 and earned a degree in marketing and economics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1999.
Yasczak, who’s on disability because of a chronic arthritis condition, also volunteers with the West Leechburg Fire Department and Fall For Animals.
Borokoski has volunteered alongside Yasczak for decades.
“He’s very organized and dedicated to all the projects he undertakes,” Borokoski said.
“He puts in 100 percent.”
Joyce Hanz is a native of Charleston, S.C. and is a features reporter covering the Pittsburgh region. She majored in media arts and graduated from the University of South Carolina. She can be reached at jhanz@triblive.com
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