VALENCIA — Former Valencia Presbyterian Church member Gerry Hill called last week to see how his baby was doing.

The Valencia pastor, the Rev. James Kirk, told Hill it was growing and touching more people's lives every day.

Hill was asking about the medical lending closet he started at the church in 2009.

The closet provides donated medical equipment such as wheelchairs, canes, electric scooters, braces and walkers to members of the community at no charge. The church asks the equipment be returned in working condition when it is no longer needed.

Kirk said Hill moved to Colorado in 2012.

“He was calling because he is trying to start one out there with two or three different churches,” said Kirk.

“He's in an assisted-living facility now, but he's always asking about the closet,” said Kirk.

That's probably because Hill started the closet after getting the idea from a Presbyterian church he attended in South Carolina.

“He was thrilled when I was telling him how much it has grown,” said Kirk.

The closet, located in a shed at the church at 80 Sterrett St., is lending out two or three items a week.

These days the closet is managed by Ken Schultheis and John Bosnyak.

People can call and set up a time to meet at the church to select equipment.

The church gets referrals from the Butler County Department of Aging, the Visiting Nurses Association and a network of physical therapists, Kirk said.

People can borrow the equipment for as long as they need it.

“In general, people are pretty good about returning things,” said Kirk.

However, the church does require a $100 deposit from anyone taking out an electric scooter.

Schultheis and Kirk said the closet operates without a budget, relying solely on donated equipment.

Some items can't be accepted, though.

Schultheis said, “We've been offered hospital beds, cranes for getting people in and out of bed. We just don't have the room for that stuff.”

“We've talked about building another building but it hasn't gone very far,” said Kirk.

What is in demand and the church doesn't have, they said, are knee walkers, the wheeled alternatives to crutches used by people with broken legs or recovering from foot surgery.

Schultheis said, “We wouldn't mind having a couple of those.”

Kirk said the church will also accept monetary donations that will be put toward the lending program. The money is used to buy batteries for the motorized wheelchairs.

Kirk said the medical lending closet is a ministry of the church.

“We are seeing a strong and growing need that people have and we are showing God's love by providing for them things they can't afford to buy,” he said.

For more information about the program or to make a request, call the church office at 724-625-2002 between 9 a.m. and noon Monday through Friday.