Local mother looking for support to continue providing medical supplies to community

PALMER — Tina Ervin is running out of room. She needs to expand her homegrown nonprofit in order to keep it going.

“I started this nonprofit on my own as a single mom out of my garage and thanks to this amazing and generous community, it grew so big, so quickly, that I knew it needed to become a nonprofit,” Ervin said.

Ervin is the founder and sole operator for Austin’s Compassion Exchange, a lending closet that accepts and distributes medical equipment and supplies without the concern over payment or how long they’ll need it. She said the main objective is to get important items to people in need.

“I don’t give a crap if I ever see it again,” Ervin said. “If we have it, you can have it.”

Everything Ervin is doing in the name of her youngest son, Austin who was paralyzed in March of 2013 after a nearly fatal vehicle collision when he was 5 years old. The incident left Austin quadriplegic and wheelchair bound with a ventilator.

“I’m very blessed to still have Austin,” Ervin said.

Ervin created the exchange not long after, establishing a seemingly endless network of donations and good deeds that circle around the Valley.

“It helps me heal to help people,” Ervin Said.

Many Valley residents will likely recognize Austin’s iconic Spidey Bus, a vessel for his love for comic books. It can also be seen as a big, red reminder of a local mother’s ceaseless work to her sons and her community.

“My kids are my inspiration. To me, being a mother is the greatest job in the world. It’s a blessing and a gift and a privilege that I hold very close to my heart,” Ervin said.

Ervin said that Spider-Man was Austin’s favorite when he was 5, but now that he’s older, he’s all about Deadpool. She said that she’s going to make a new Deadpool themed bus and the old one will go toward the cause.

Ervin receives inquiries about medical supplies on a regular basis and there always seems to be another bed, wheelchair or other piece of equipment that’s no longer needed. She strives to keep these helpful items out of landfills and readily accessible when those items find another place to go.

“I didn’t realize how fast ACE would grow,” Ervin said.

Ervin has acquired a massive array over the years with items located at her home and at other property off Hyer Road. She said that she’s one of three lending closets in the state that give out medical equipment. She said they’ve been the only one that’s been open during the COVID-19 epidemic, handing people essential items like masks and hand sanitizer.

The supply is so large that she has to make trips from her other property when retrieving items for people in the community. She said the added pressures from COVID-19 has made it their busiest month of all time.

With a new warehouse on her property, Ervin will be able to accommodate her never ending supply and help even more people moving forward.

“I could accommodate people more if I had a building,” Ervin said.

The warehouse will be located on her home property, to the right of her house. She has enough room to build, she just needs help from the community to raise the resources necessary.

“If I can’t get a warehouse, I can’t do it anymore,” Ervin said.

Here are the different ways ACE is currently fundraising:

MVFCU-Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union: Austin’s Compassion Exchange Lending Closet Banking Acct #156283(for internal transfers using MVFCU app or home banking, it will ask for the last name on the account. Enter “Ervin”).

Facebook fundraiser posted on the ACE Facebook Page:m.facebook.com/AustinsCompassionExchange

GoFundMe link:

gofundme.com/f/build-ace-a-warehouse-fundraiser

Additional links:

Austin Ervin’s Facebook page: m.facebook.com/AustinErvinHealing/

Tina Ervin’s Facebook:facebook.com/TinaLuster.Ervin

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com