Packing donated medical supplies and equipment is regularly scheduled at 6:30
p.m. on the last Tuesday of each month in the Fox Cities area. The location
for
packing supplies into shipping containers is the Goodwill
Industries
Ralph B Shiner Jr Center at 1341 W. Spencer St., Appleton,Wisconsin.
See below for a map to the packing site.
Call Carol
Busey,
(920-734-3702)
or e-mail (buseyca@wfrv.cbs.com) for directions or to confirm that packing will
occur
prior to traveling to the site, as occasionally packing sessions are cancelled.
The Marquette Rotary Club also packs supplies two or three times a year. Contact
Dr. Charles Wright (906- 228-8628 or kcwright@chartermi.net) for information
on packing dates and location.
St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Appleton provides a room in the basement for SAMP's exclusive use. Donated materials are placed there by hospital personnel. From time to time, depending on the amount of materials donated, Rotarians sort, pack, and label boxes so they can be placed directly in the gaylords at the Shiner Center. Packed boxes periodically are taken to St. Elizabeth's shipping dock, and prepared for delivery to Goodwill. St. Elizabeth's shipping personnel contact Goodwill for pickup.
• A typical packing session lasts about 1 1/2 hours. You don’t
have to stay for the whole time if you don’t wish to.
• Dress appropriately. This means old clothes that you don’t mind
getting dirty. Many of the materials that we pack have been stored for a long
time and are dusty or dirty.
• Wear sturdy shoes which will protect your feet from dropped objects.
• There will be a box of Rotary supplies which will contain items such
as pencils and markers, tape guns, etc.
• There will be numbered inventory sheets and clipboards available for
use.
• There are several different “jobs” that need doing within
a packing session. Many of them are described below. Check with one of the
packing coordinators if you are unsure which one is best for you.
1. Sorting small loose items
Many of the items which are donated come to us as mixed boxes of miscellaneous
medical supplies. These must be sorted into boxes that can be labeled to correspond
with the categories on the inventory sheets. One area of the warehouse will
be designated the sorting area, and the unsorted boxes of items will be brought
there. We need several people at each session to sort these items.
• Locate several medium sized boxes.
• Using a large black marker, label each box to correspond with one of the categories on the inventory
sheets.
• If you are unsure about which category a particular item belongs
to, use your best judgment or ask one of your co-workers. In general, it
is better
to be decisive than to be perfect.
• When a box is filled, seal it with tape, check that the label is
visible, and deliver the box to a staging area for one of the large boxes (gaylords)
being packed.
• Sometimes a large number of one particular item is found. If possible,
try to locate a box of the right size and pack them all together.
2. Making up boxes
Especially at the beginning of a session, someone is needed to assemble boxes.
• One to three large gaylord cartons are built. Additional gaylords
will be needed as these are filled.
• At least 10 smaller boxes are generally needed by those sorting
loose items.
• Ask one of the packing coordinators which boxes to use.
3. Taking Inventory
• One person should be designated to take inventory for each gaylord
being packed.
• Get an inventory sheet and a clipboard from one of the packing coordinators.
• Label the gaylord you’re working on with the same number that
appears on your inventory sheet. The labels should be written on all four
sides of the box in bold black marker and at least 6 inches high.
• Carefully record each box or item that goes into your gaylord on
your inventory sheet. These records are IMPORTANT for shipping!
4. Packing a “Gaylord”
Each box should be filled as fully as possible. The following are some general
guidelines for packing, but since much of what we pack is unique, packing a
box can be a creative exercise.
• Use large black markers to label each gaylord with a number cooresponding to the number on the inventory sheet used to record its contents. Make sure the label
is visible to the sorters AND after the box is closed.
Select large items to pack first. Think about how they will fit
in the box. Plan ahead to incorporate odd shapes.
• In general, place the heaviest items in the bottom of the box.
• Remember to think in 3 dimensions. Some longer items can be placed
from corner to corner, bottom to top.
• Fill spaces in large items with smaller items. For example, fill
the drawers of a cabinet with blankets or small boxes of items.
• Use blankets, sheets, etc. to pad and cushion around fragile items.
• Try not to leave any large voids in the finished box. Fill in with
blankets if necessary.
• Don’t over pack a box. It should be flat on all six sides
when done.
.
5. Clean-up and maintenance
There are several other jobs that need to be done in order to keep things
running smoothly throughout a session. If you are unsure what to do, ask one
of the packing coordinators where you can contribute best.
• Moving finished gaylords to the designated staging area.
• Making up new gaylords or small boxes as needed.
• Tearing down and flattening old boxes for recycling.
• Cleaning up waste, plastic wrap, bags, etc. There will be a dumpster
available for these items.
