Updated May 11, 2015.
Are you looking for a non-profit organization to volunteer your time? If you have any interest in health care or medical supplies, and especially helping people in need, you'll want to get to know more about Project C.U.R.E.
Headquartered in Centennial, Colorado, Project C.U.R.E ("CU.R.E." stands for Commission on Urgent Relief and Equipment) was founded in 1987 by Dr. James Jackson when he returned to his home in Colorado from a trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
At the time, Dr. Jackson was working as an international economic consultant. On this particular trip his agenda took him to a medical clinic where he witnessed with his own eyes sick and dying patients were being turned away because the clinic simply did not have the basic medical supplies needed to care for them.
Dr. Jackson swore to the clinic doctor that when he returned home to America, he would figure out a way to get the necessary supplies to his clinic. He kept his word and after reaching out to his network, he was able to collect and fill a container load full of medical supplies worth $250,000 within a month.
Dr. Jackson paid for the ocean freight passage of this container to reach the clinic in Rio de Janeiro. And that started Project C.U.R.E. on its growth journey.
Today, Project C.U.R.E. is run by Dr. Jackson's son, Douglas Jackson, who became President & CEO in 1997. They have shipped medical supplies and equipment to over 130 countries, helping patients, families, and children get access to life-saving medical supplies.
Most of the supplies shipped from the Unites States to other countries in need by Project C.U.R.E. are often in surplus quantities here in the U.S. Hospitals and health care organizations of all kinds, including manufacturers, donate fresh supplies and equipment that they can spare.
Even if you don't live in Colorado you can get involved as a volunteer with Project C.U.R.E. There are Distribution Centers in Chicago, IL, Denver, CO, Houston, TX, Nashville, TN, and Phoenix, AZ. The non-profit has medical supply and equipment Collection Centers in Albuquerque, NM, Cortland, NY, Glenwood Springs, CO, Grand Junction, CO, Harrisburg, PA, Kansas City, MO, Kentwood, MI, Rolla / Jefferson City, MO, Sarasota, FL, Wilsonville, OR.
Ways You Can Help
There are a variety of ways to contribute. You can donate money to support the organization in general for its daily work. You can volunteer as a fundraiser for specific projects that interest and concern you too. The website has a list of projects currently in need.
You can also help by donating supplies and equipment to the closest Collection Center near you. Or, volunteer to work at one. In general, the medical supplies and equipment needed are items that help make diagnosis and treatment possible, protect health care workers, and aid for surgery and emergency care.
Wound care kits, IV kits, and procedure kits are popular for shipping, especially if they are already sterilized and pre-packaged.
Project C.U.R.E. performs much-needed inspection, inventory, and logistics services to get millions of dollars worth of medical supplies to communities in need every year. The organization estimates that just a single 40' container load carries around $400,000 worth of medical supplies.
Other ways to serve are traveling to the clinics overseas that Project C.U.R.E. supplies with its collection efforts.