Manuel Delgado sits on a wheelchair on his covered porch to cool off because his house is to hot to stay in. Delgado, 94, soon will enjoy the fresh air inside his Thermal home. The Nightingale Society of the Coachella Valley, a volunteer auxiliary of the Visiting Nurse Association in Palm Desert, donated an air-conditioning unit and a fan as part of its third annual fan club.
The past two years the club has managed to distribute more than 300 fans and coolers, said Gina Bikales, a fund-development specialist with the association.
The Fan Club now is accepting donations and will keep doing so until the end of summer. People are welcome to donate new fans, their services or money, Bikales said.
"As long as we are out here in the desert, there's going to be that need," Bikales said.
Delgado did not turn on his air conditioning due to economic reasons, said Juan Delgado, his medical social worker with the nurse association. He is not related to Manuel Delgado.
"He had financial difficulties because he is on a fixed income," Juan Delgado said, adding that Manuel Delgado's electric bill during the summer can run up to $300 or $400.
"One day I came and I found him outside, just like now," said Juan Delgado, explaining how he found out about Manuel Delgado's broken air conditioner. "He said he sat out here because it was cooler than inside his home."
Besides the money issue, patients like Manuel Delgado are sometimes embarrassed to ask for this type of help, said Juan Delgado.
"I had an AC in my bedroom but now it only blows hot air," said Manuel Delgado, sitting on the porch of the house he built with his now fragile hands 60 years ago.
This week Juan Delgado visited his client and brought along the window unit that will make his client's life a bit easier.
"We have to be careful, we don't want to step on anyone's dignity," Bikales said. "But we want to give them what they need."
In this case it was a cooler. Other times clients need clothing or simply cleaning supplies.
The Nightingale Society has 28 members, but is always needing more volunteers to meet the patients' nonclinical needs, Bikales said.
The society and Mimi's Cafe in Rancho Mirage are working together to motivate Coachella Valley citizens to donate fans. With every donation, the society will give a coupon for an appetizer at Mimi's, Bikales said.
Another partner is One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating in Palm Springs/ One Hour will install Manuel Delgado's AC for free. Air technicians and other company employees have already volunteered for the extra service, said Angela Miller, general manager for the company.
"I think we should give back to the community one way or another," Miller said during a telephone interview. "We're going to make sure we serve them even if it's company time."
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