Mano a Mano’s US office was our first organization founded in 1994 and establishes the total organization’s vision, mission, and general goals for the entire Mano a Mano organization, raises financial and in-kind resources, contributes additional expertise in program development and management, and provides subject-area professional knowledge and skills. Our St. Paul, Minnesota office/warehouse operates with a full-time staff of two and a large and effective volunteer network.

Mano a Mano’s Office/Warehouse in St. Paul, Minnesota.

220,704 Pounds of Supplies Sent from Minnesota to Bolivia in 2022: Our Recovered Resources Program (Video)

Mano a Mano’s recovered resources program – the program that started Mano a Mano nearly 30 years ago – collects donated medical supplies, mobility equipment, and other items in Minnesota for shipment to Bolivia, where they are distributed to people and organizations in need throughout the country.

Check out what we did together in 2022:

Distributing Medical Supplies and Equipment in Bolivia and the Twin Cities: Recovered Resources Program in 2022

Total Pounds Sorted and Distributed: Mano a Mano volunteers sorted, palletized, shipped, and donated 246,614 pounds. 500 in-kind donors donated supplies on 850+ occasions in 2022.
Total Pounds Sent to Bolivia: 9 containers with 220,704 pounds were shipped to Bolivia (this does not include the container weight). These shipments included 421 pallets and 5,853 mobility aids (wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, canes).
Total Pounds Given to Other Organizations: A total of 25,910 pounds were given to other organizations with programs in the US and around the world.
Total Mobility Items Distributed Locally: In addition, we donated 328 vital pieces of physical therapy equipment benefiting 454 individuals in the Twin Cities area through our Mobility Closet.

Loading 3 containers with supplies and equipment at our Minnesota warehouse for Bolivia, November 2022.

Working to Support the Environment Locally

Overall, we received 192,328 pounds of supplies in 2022; almost all of those supplies would have ended up in local landfills.
We properly recycled 4,429 pounds of materials (paper, cardboard, metal). Only 4.9% of the supplies we received as donated items were not repurposed.
We produced 6,475,984 watts of our own power in 2022 through the solar panels we installed on our warehouse in 2018.
We created a Pollinator Garden alongside our warehouse, with support from the Awesome Foundation.

Volunteers Contributed 16,687 Hours in 2022

None of this work is possible without the many volunteers, interns, visitors, in-kind donors, and financial donors that support Mano a Mano – thank you! Volunteers spent 16,687 hours volunteering in 2022; 4,433 hours were spent working in our St. Paul warehouse: picking up donations of supplies, sorting and organizing donations, distributing supplies locally, and helping load containers for shipment to Bolivia and elsewhere. In addition to our core volunteers that are regulars, we also hosted 7 social work interns from Metro State University for the Fall 2022 semester and hosted a student worker through St. Kate’s Center for Community Work and Learning. There are also many people that spend time supporting Mano a Mano beyond our Recovered Resources program: helping raise funds for our work across our 5 counterpart organizations in Bolivia and Minnesota; doing research projects; translating Mano a Mano information; spreading the word and making connections; and serving on our Board; among other projects.