Dorothy Carney, of Ellington, gets into a motorized scooter with the help of her husband, Francis Carney, right, her sister-in-law Elaine Gregonis, of Enfield and volunteer Patrick Plagge, left. Carney was one of more than 100 people who came to the Holiday Inn in Norwich Sunday to collect motorized wheelchairs and scooters that Phil Pavone, the owner of AZ Pawn in Norwich, collects each year and, with the help of a team of volunteers, fixes and distributes to people who apply to receive one.

In a speech Sunday, Pavone framed the eighth annual givewaway as a rebuke to state and federal lawmakers who he claims don't care that insurance companies and Medicare often deny claims from people who want motorized wheelchairs or scooters. He pitted the denied insurance claims against American foreign aid and donations to victims of natural disasters, such as Hurricane Maria, arguing that the money would be better spent on health care expenses like the wheelchairs. "It's nonsense," he said. "This is about Americans helping Americans," he said.