Rosalie DiMaggio inspects a wheelchair as part of her church’s effort to bring in enough wheelchairs, canes, walkers and more to fill a 40-foot storage container and send to Guatemala. (Matthew Nash /Olympic Peninsula News Group)

Rosalie DiMaggio inspects a wheelchair as part of her church’s effort to bring in enough wheelchairs, canes, walkers and more to fill a 40-foot storage container and send to Guatemala. (Matthew Nash /Olympic Peninsula News Group)

Dungeness Community Church seeks wheelchairs for Guatemalans

Volunteers to pick up donations from Port Angeles to Port Townsend

SEQUIM — Mission work continues from afar for members of Dungeness Community Church despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since December, Rosalie DiMaggio, a retired catering chef, has organized an effort to bring wheelchairs and other medical equipment such as crutches and walkers to residents in Guatemala.

So far, she and program organizers have received more than 40 wheelchairs, 100 walkers and dozens of crutches and canes in various shapes, condition and styles. DiMaggio said volunteers will pick up items from Port Angeles to Port Townsend.

Now DiMaggio and other church members are turning to the community for more donations to help bring mobility back to people thousands of miles away.

Dungeness Community Church’s missionaries were planning to go March 28 last year to Chimaltenango, west of Guatemala City, but the pandemic shut down those plans, DiMaggio said.

Through nonprofit missionary group Bethel Ministries International, she learned about sending relief through wheelchairs.

“They suggested we send wheelchairs (instead of a missionary team), and I thought, ‘Oh, we can do that,’ ” DiMaggio said.

She connected with another nonprofit, Mission Mobility, which gathers and ships wheelchairs to Guatemala for Bethel Ministries to distribute. Once DiMaggio and fellow volunteers can fill a 40-foot container with wheelchairs, Mission Mobility’s team will ship it at no cost, DiMaggio said.

Support has come in many forms, from fellow church and community members, such as Vern Frykholm and Ryan Schaafsma at All Safe Storage, which is donating space, to Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County, which is donating equipment, and church members in various capacities with donations and/or volunteer time.

But to fill a 40-foot container, DiMaggio and volunteers estimate they’ll need many more wheelchairs and other mobility-related medical equipment before sending it all south.

How to help

Those with wheelchairs, canes, crutches and/or walkers can call Dungeness Community Church at 360-683-7333 to schedule a pickup or drop-off at the church, 45 Eberle Lane.

Donors also can drop off items at the church, she said.

According to its website, Bethel Ministries International distributes more than 1,300 repaired wheelchairs each year through monthly distribution activities.

“Each chair is custom fit for every person, and they work with families to make it work,” DiMaggio said.

A team of Guatemalans, many in wheelchairs too, run a shop to refurbish donated items, Bethel reports on its website.

“They accept any condition because the local people repair equipment like leather and wood and wheels,” DiMaggio said.

“People don’t need to even give matching crutches because they’ll make it work.”

Who it helps

People in need of a wheelchair or equipment to help them walk vary in health and age, Bethel’s website says.

“It’s really a service for anyone of all ages, and men and women,” DiMaggio said.

“People are born with birth defects, there are a lot of diabetics and people hurt by violence (who need wheelchairs).”

She said people who can’t be mobile are sometimes set aside or cannot be supported simply because they are poor.

“I’ve seen pictures of a father carrying a child on a chair wrapped with rope,” DiMaggio said.

Taking on this mission has expanded her idea of how people can help, she said.

“It’s supporting a great need,” DiMaggio said.

“People are just weeping when their children are finally comfortable. It helps parents a lot.”

Just prior to when the container is ready to ship, DiMaggio plans to gather nonperishable food to send with the wheelchairs and other supplies.

“It’s during the pandemic, so they need more food, too,” she said.

For more information on Bethel Ministries International, visit bethelministriesinternational.com.

For more on Mission Mobility, visit missionmobility.org.

________

Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.

Volunteers at Dungeness Community Church, from left, Al Chrisman, organizer Rosalie DiMaggio, Martin Murray and Jim Coley seek donated wheelchairs, walkers and canes to ship to Guatemala to help people in Chimaltenango gain mobility. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)

Volunteers at Dungeness Community Church, from left, Al Chrisman, organizer Rosalie DiMaggio, Martin Murray and Jim Coley seek donated wheelchairs, walkers and canes to ship to Guatemala to help people in Chimaltenango gain mobility. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)

More in News

The Peninsula Crisis Response Team responded with two armored vehicles on Tuesday when a 37-year-old Sequim man barricaded himself in a residence in the 200 block of Village Lane in Sequim. (Clallam County Sheriff’s Office)
Man barricaded with rifle arrested

Suspect had fired shots in direction of deputies, sheriff says

An interior view of the 12-passenger, all-electric hydrofoil ferry before it made a demonstration run on Port Townsend Bay on Saturday. Standing in the aisle is David Tyler, the co-founder and managing director of Artemis Technologies, the designer and builder of the carbon fiber boat. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Demonstration provides glimpse of potential for ferry service

Battery-powered hydrofoil could open water travel

Electronic edition of newspaper set for Thursday holiday

Peninsula Daily News will have an electronic edition only… Continue reading

Juliet Shidler, 6, tries on a flower-adorned headband she made with her mother, Rachel Shidler of Port Angeles, during Saturday’s Summertide celebration in Webster’s Woods sculpture park at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center. The event, which marks the beginning of the summer season, featured food, music, crafts and other activities for youths and adults. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Summertide festival

Juliet Shidler, 6, tries on a flower-adorned headband she made with her… Continue reading

Law enforcement agencies to participate in Torch Run

Clallam County law enforcement agencies will participate in the… Continue reading

Crews contain wildland fire near Fisher Cove Road

Crews from Clallam County Fire District 2 quickly contained… Continue reading

Crescent School senior Audrey Gales, right, looks at the homemade regalia worn by fellow senior Hayden Horn on Saturday. Gales had a handmade Native American cap ready for her graduation. Seventeen Crescent students graduated during traditional ceremonies in the school gym. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Crescent graduation

Crescent School senior Audrey Gales, right, looks at the homemade regalia worn… Continue reading

Pertussis cases see 25-fold increase statewide in 2024

The state Department of Health reported an increase in pertussis… Continue reading

Frank Lowenstein was hired as the Dungeness River Nature Center’s executive director in September 2024. (Frank Lowenstein)
River center director dismissed

Board is looking for candidate to fill role

Weekly flight operations scheduled

There will be field carrier landing practice operations for aircraft… Continue reading

A demonstrator carrying an American flag walks the sidewalk in front of the Clallam County Courthouse on Saturday. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Demonstrators march at courthouse

A demonstrator carrying an American flag walks the sidewalk in front of… Continue reading

Port Angeles High School twin graduates Kaylie Mast, left, and Kendall Mast, communicate with their friends by text while waiting for the start of the 2025 graduation parade on Friday. The parade began at Ediz Hook and culminated with a formal ceremony Friday evening at Port Angeles Civic Field. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Graduation parade

Port Angeles High School twin graduates Kaylie Mast, left, and Kendall Mast,… Continue reading