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Owen Turner’s time on this planet was challenging, joyful, heartbreaking, hilarious, and above all, brief. His memory, though, will be anything but.

“Owen was born with a rare chromosome disorder so unique that no other case has ever been identified in any medical literature or database in the world,” said Eleanor Turner, Owen’s mother. During his 12 years, Owen battled a vast array of medical conditions and required a significant amount of specialized equipment to keep him alive. His diagnoses made him eligible for additional state assistance through Medicaid, but that wasn’t always enough.

“Owen hated having medical equipment attached to him,” Turner said. “He would pull things out of his body, often breaking them in the process.” The Medicaid system would provide set amounts of various pieces of consumable equipment each month, but since Owen tended to use more than average, the Turners were often left in a bind. “It’s an inflexible system that doesn’t allow you to get more supplies when your child is an absolute hooligan,” Turner said with a chuckle.

When the Turners lived in Wisconsin, they were able to travel to Milwaukee and access a medical supplies lending library to make ends meet. After moving to Sioux Falls, they were surprised to not find a similar program here. So, after Owen passed away, they decided to start a nonprofit based on the services that had helped them in Wisconsin. “We felt like it was a great way to pay it forward for the assistance we received,” said Turner.

The Legacy Foundation was born in 2022, and Owen’s Outfitters came online in late 2023, finally realizing the Turners’ vision. The nonprofit provides an array of medical equipment to anyone who needs it — from everyday supplies like syringes to durable goods such as wheelchairs — all free of charge and with as little paperwork as possible. “If you’re here, we believe that you need these items, so we don’t want to make things harder for you,” Turner said.

The next step for Owen’s Outfitters is to extend their reach to areas of the community that are often underserved by translating their informational and marketing materials into more languages. They are starting with Spanish, but are looking into expanding these offerings into Ethiopian and Somali as well.

Grant funding from the Community Foundation is also providing an avenue for the organization to extend its reach to a greater geographic area. By upgrading their inventory system, clients can find what they need and reserve it for pickup using an online tool. Since transportation is a challenge for many, this system will ensure that the effort to make the journey is worth it.

The goal, according to Turner, is to make everyone feel welcome at her organization, and for everyone who needs help to be able to access it. “If you need something, I’d like to give it to you,” she said.

Making services like Owen’s Outfitters available for everyone is vital as our community continues to become more diverse, but accurate translation is no simple task. However, the Turners are not ones to shy away from a challenge. With their online store and translated materials completed, they are setting their sites on their next project: an old school bus.

Turner has long had the idea to convert an old bus into a mobile version of Owen’s Outfitters, and earlier this summer, they received a bus from a generous donor. Now, it will be retrofitted to be suitable for this next adventure.

“Not only do they have a completely free medical lending library, but they are going to extraordinary measures to make sure that its reach is as wide as possible,” said Patrick Gale, Vice President for Community Investment. “Owen’s Outfitters is an inspiring success story.”

Owen, who loved everything pink (the more obnoxiously pink, the better, according to his mother), surely would light up if he had the chance to see what his parents have built in his name. The branding and nearly everything inside their space is bright pink to pay homage to his memory. Surely, too, would Owen be happy to see that his name and influence brings hope to families like his own.