Medical Teams International volunteers use their unique talents

Two King City residents support the non-profit organization by working behind the scenes

By Barbara Sherman

The Regal Courier, Jul 30, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Barbara Sherman / Regal Courier

ALL FIRED UP — Larry Cox volunteers for Medical Teams International by picking up items that need welding at the Tigard headquarters, taking them to his Newberg shop to weld, and then returning them ready to use, which is all in a day's work for him.

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Toni Miles has become an expert at reading product expiration dates, a skill she never dreamed would be important until she started volunteering at Medical Teams International in Tigard.

The resident of King City for 12 years, who retired about 19 years ago after working as a federal employee for the Internal Revenue Service and Bonneville Power, is now a busy volunteer.

At MTI, she sorts through boxes of donated pharmaceutical and hygiene products, checking expiration dates to see if the items can be used locally or sent abroad.

Over the years, Miles has "done half a dozen volunteer jobs," she said, including serving as a Master Gardener, as a tutor in the OASIS reading program in the Sherwood School District and volunteering for the city of Tigard.

"I would do something until there was a change, or another opportunity came up," she said.

At Medical Teams International, which sends medical and hygiene supplies as well as medical teams all over the world to help impoverished people, Miles has found her niche.

"I like it here," she said. "Many volunteers have been here a long time. Many come in several times a week. I come in once a week for three or four hours.

"They always need volunteers. You can always find something to do. And it's close. I've had opportunities to volunteer in Hillsboro, but it's too far from here."

As Miles sorts through pharmaceutical and toiletry items donated by stores and care facilities, she puts them into the correct bins.

"Sometimes the corner of a box gets crushed, or a bottle of shampoo leaks onto other bottles, so they can't sell them, or products approach their expiration date," she said. "We handle them in a couple of different ways. For example, if something doesn't expire for at least 14 months, we ship it overseas. Things that have not yet expired but will expire soon are distributed locally. Medical Teams International is cautious about this."

The bins are labeled for such products as sunscreen, kids' toothbrushes, hair care, deodorant, baby supplies, cough and cold medicines, lotion and so on.

"My pet peeve is hard-to-read expiration labels," Miles said.

She likes volunteering at the facility because "it gets me out of the house in the morning, and it works well with my schedule."

The majority of her time is spent going through large boxes full of supplies and deciding which bin they need to go into.

"The people dealing with medical supplies are more specialized, and they do more standing," Miles said. "That's not my niche. What I do, I move around more. When I run around here, I get exercise. And it's more interesting than just counting.”

As part of the job, Miles also watch out for product recalls, and she is always willing to tackle projects. "If I know how to do it, I'll do it," she said. "I feel good doing this because it's good for people.

"What I like about this is that people can use these things that have been donated, and I'm sorting them to get them to the right places. MTI makes wise use of the things that are donated. It's interesting to look at the sign in the lobby to see where shipments are going."

A sign in the lobby lists where medical teams are currently located around the world and where shipments are being sent. For example, on July 8, shipments were going to Albania, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Moldova, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Miles recalled a recent shipment that left for Bosnia, when people gathered around, and "anyone who wanted to speak about the shipment could do so," she said.

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