Every day in the U.S. 3,000 tons of usable medical supplies and equipment are sent to a landfill. Thousands of people in third-world countries are dying annually simply due to lack of basic supplies. MMI is intervening.

MMI is a Christ centered organization that exists to deliver hope to people in need through the deployment of medical supplies and equipment, medical teams, and construction teams. Since 1998, MMI has responded to the global need for adequate medical supplies by shipping domestic surplus equipment around the world to resource and invest into communities. Founders, Tom and Nancy Stoeckel, witnessed the extreme need and recognized the great opportunity to gather medical supplies and redirect the equipment to bring hope to the nations.

The Beginning

In 1997, MMI founders Tom and Nancy Stoeckel visited a 900 bed hospital in Panevezys, Lithuania. Latex gloves were hanging on a wire to dry, hypodermic needles were being reused on multiple patients, and kidney dialysis solution was being mixed in a five gallon bucket with a wooden stick. At the time, Tom was the head of the emergency department at a local hospital and aware that in the U.S., excess medical supplies and medical equipment is sent to the landfill every day. In fact, it is estimated that as much as 3,000 tons of usable medical supplies and equipment nationwide are sent to the landfills daily. That is 2.2 billion pounds of usable medical supplies and equipment. The supply is plentiful, the demand globally nearly limitless, and this was the impetus for the formation of MMI.

Our Vision

The vision of MMI is to partner with other organizations – both domestically and abroad to serve hospitals, clinics and communities and help to establish sustainable medical aid where it is most needed. The target is “long term impact through short term missions” – relationships that go beyond the time MMI is physically present – through ongoing support, training, supplies and working to aid in establishing sustainable and improved infrastructure.

Function

Our primary function is to recycle new and used medical equipment and supplies from the Central Valley of California and ship them overseas in containers to mission clinics and hospitals in the poorest parts of the world. Currently, MMI picks up these donated supplies and equipment from hospitals and doctor’s offices in the greater Fresno area. They are taken to a warehouse in Clovis where they are sorted, categorized, and packed into boxes for shipping before being stored at MMI’s second warehouse facility in Fresno.

MMI also takes teams – medical and construction -overseas to remote locations to provide medical clinics in areas where access to medical care is limited.

In the 23 years

In the 23 years that MMI has been in operation, we have sent over 50 sea containers of medical supplies and equipment to 23 different countries. This also represents over 950 tons of materials sent overseas that would have likely been a part of the local landfill.

We are excited about what has been accomplished over the last 23 years. But we look to the future knowing that God’s vision for MMI goes beyond what we could hope or imagine. Won’t you join us in writing our story for the next decade?

MMI is always recruiting volunteers to assist us in our mission of providing hope through medical aid. Medical and non-medical volunteers are welcome and encouraged to join us!