{"id":237665,"date":"2026-07-07T17:27:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T17:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/237665\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T17:27:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T17:27:19","slug":"pit-donates-lost-items-to-charity-and-preps-for-popular-auction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/237665\/","title":{"rendered":"PIT Donates Lost Items to Charity and Preps for Popular Auction"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Busy<\/a><\/p>\n

PHOTO BY BETH HOLLERICH, PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT<\/p>\n

Thousands of lost items have found a home once again, thanks to Pittsburgh International Airport.<\/p>\n

According to Blue Sky News, the airport has donated 60 pieces of left-behind medical equipment to Global Links, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that distributes health supplies to folks in need. The equipment, which was held for the standard period before finding its way to the donation pile, includes wheelchairs, rollator walkers and canes.<\/p>\n

Officials say the effort reflects \u201ca broader commitment to sustainability and community partnership \u2014 reducing waste while helping local families facing hardship.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGlobal Links was founded in Pittsburgh and is built on partnerships,\u201d says Meagan Sotirokos, Global Links\u2019 manager of surplus procurement and purchasing. \u201cWe are proud to be partners with PIT.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among those helped by the abandoned medical equipment \u201crescued\u201d from PIT was a man in need of a wheelchair after he fell from a three-story balcony.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMonths later, he returned to trade his wheelchair in for a walker and \u2026 he brought back the wheelchair he no longer needed, hoping it could be passed on to someone else.,\u201d Sotirokos says.<\/p>\n

PIT has also donated 57 boxes of clothing to Circles of Pittsburgh, an anti-poverty organization that connects low-income individuals with volunteers to help build financial skills, find employment and achieve economic stability. That donation includes coats, shirts, pants, winter jackets, scarves, hats, gloves and shoes that were turned into the airport\u2019s Lost and Found service and never claimed.<\/p>\n

Airport officials say they work hard to reunite passengers with their missing items; in 2025, it launched a new digital self-service Lost and Found platform<\/a> that gives folks the ability to submit claims, track their belongings in real time and receive automated updates 24\/7. It\u2019s all part of the airport\u2019s We Got You program<\/a>, which focuses on helping passengers navigate unexpected events like lost items, delayed luggage and last-minute gate changes.<\/p>\n

Lost items are held at the airport for 30 days. If an item isn\u2019t claimed in time, it becomes property of the Allegheny County Airport Authority and is either donated to local charities or sold at the airport\u2019s annual auction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the dates for the popular auction have not yet been announced, airport officials have said it will be online-only again this year, and that it will once again be run by Joe R. Pyle\u2019s Complete Auctions and Reality Services. Details on bidding dates, item previews and registration will be announced ahead of the launch.<\/p>\n

Items to be auctioned off will include abandoned vehicles, jewelry, electronics, sporting goods, strollers and airport maintenance equipment, such as:<\/p>\n

Two Rolex watches, including a Rolex Datejust wristwatch
\nWindone Folding Electric Bicycle, which is a black, compact folding commuter e-bike with a rear-mounted battery, integrated front light, rear cargo rack, disc brakes and 20-inch wheels
\nCasio premium all-metal luxury G-SHOCK watch
\nHandcrafted Sabika necklace with white stones
\nLogitech keyboard<\/p>\n

PIT is finalizing the list of 21 vehicles and equipment that will be included in the auction.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOTO BY BETH HOLLERICH, PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Thousands of lost items have found a home once again, thanks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":237666,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102329,5705,102330,17913,73,75,6846,74],"class_list":["post-237665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-airport-auction","tag-charity","tag-lost-and-found","tag-pit","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-international-airport","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}