The Rotary Club of Estes Park — known locally as the “Noon Rotary” — and the Estes Valley Sunrise Rotary Club are asking Estes Valley residents to give unused crutches, walkers, wheelchairs, and other mobility devices a second life — and help give someone half a world away greater independence.
The two Estes Park Rotary clubs are working together on Crutches4Africa, a Colorado-based nonprofit that collects used mobility and assistive devices and sends them to people in Africa who otherwise may have little or no access to such equipment.
The clubs held a collection Aug. 8 during Estes Recycles Day at the Estes Park Events Complex, accepting crutches, walkers, wheelchairs, braces, and other equipment that residents no longer needed.
The Rotary and Recycle Day program connected a community recycling effort with an international humanitarian mission, giving equipment that might otherwise sit unused in a garage, basement, or closet to someone who needs it, providing mobility, dignity, and independence.
The next collection will take place this weekend during the Estes Park Labor Day Arts and Crafts Show in Bond Park in downtown Estes Park. The show runs Saturday through Monday, Sept. 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sept. 6 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sept. 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
People can stop by the Crutches4Africa booth to drop off equipment or speak with a representative to arrange for pickup later.
Crutches4Africa was founded by Colorado Rotarian David Talbot and his wife, Candace. Talbot, a polio survivor, understands firsthand the importance of mobility. The couple launched the organization after witnessing people in Africa struggling to move because they lacked crutches and other basic assistive equipment.
In some communities, children and adults with mobility challenges have resorted to using tree branches as makeshift canes and crutches, or crawling.
Crutches4Africa collects equipment that is no longer needed in the United States and works with partner organizations to transport the devices overseas. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and an international project of the Mountain Foothills Rotary Club in Rotary District 5450.
For the Estes Park clubs, the effort puts Rotary International’s longtime motto “service above self” into practice, said former Rotary Club of Estes Park President Anne Slack in an interview with the Estes Valley Voice.
Talbot and his wife recently traveled to Estes Park to pick up mobility devices the clubs had collected over the past year. Slack, former Sunrise Rotary President Bill Howell, and former Sunrise Rotary President Gordon Slack met with Talbot to turn over the donated equipment.
The Estes Park effort has drawn contributions from throughout the surrounding area, including residents of Estes Park, Allenspark, and Drake, as well as members of the Quota Club.
Crutches4Africa describes its mission in terms of four goals: mobility, health, dignity, and access. For recipients, something as ordinary as an unused pair of crutches can mean the ability to attend school, work, participate in community life, or simply move around with greater safety, dignity, and independence.
The Rotary clubs encourage residents to check their garages, closets, and storage areas for mobility equipment they no longer use and bring it to this weekend’s collection.
Donations may also be brought to Rotary Club of Estes Park meetings, held at 11:30 a.m. on the first four Thursdays of each month at American Legion Post 119.
For more information on the local Rotary clubs, please visit the Estes Valley Sunrise Rotary or the Rotary Club of Estes Park, or email Gordan Slack.
Correction, September 1, 2026 5:11 pm: The article was updated to reflect that Anne Slack, Bill Howell, and Gordon Slack are former club presidents.
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