Projects

ProjectsKaty Collura2020-07-05T12:23:32-04:00

These are just a sampling of the hundreds of devices May We Help volunteers design, build
and deliver at no cost to hundreds of clients every year!

may_we_help

What if you can’t swing a bat but want to play b

What if you can’t swing a bat but want to play baseball? That’s the problem May We Help volunteers originally solved for the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League back in 2016 with the Batter Up, which allows kids to step up to the plate and experience the delight of their ball soaring through the air!
Well, now there are Batter-Ups all over the region, and the new environments they’re being used in have created new needs. So May He Help volunteer and co-founder, Bill Sand, updated the Batter-Up!
This prototype is safer and easier to transport, not just from the garage to the car but also from the car to the field too! Plus, it’s smaller than the original, has variable speeds, collapsible handles, and an easily detachable bat and wheels! #baseball #baseballlife⚾️ #baseballboys #baseballseason #baseballlife #disabledsports #batterup #summertime #summersports #batterupbaseball

May We Help volunteers made 900 face shields, and

May We Help volunteers made 900 face shields, and all were swooped up by area hospitals and care centers: Drake, Good Sam, Carespring, Nationwide Children’s, Community Behavioral Health, Hamilton County DD, and Cincinnati VA. #getmeppe #ppe #frontline #covid #covid #healthcareworkers #faceshield #pandemic #weareinthistogether #somegoodnews #globalpandemic #volunteer #hospital

May We Help volunteers are making face shields to

May We Help volunteers are making face shields to help our local healthcare workers stay safe!
Here's how!
May We Help volunteer Katie Seibert wanted to help our community’s healthcare workers stay safe by providing face shields to help offset the shortage.
So, she made a few prototypes and delivered them to a team at Drake Hospital. Drake lived with the face shields for 24 hours to ensure that they were functional, durable and withstood regular, rigid cleanings – which they did!
Then came the hard part: sourcing the materials! Katie spent three days scouring Greater Cincinnati for enough elastic, foam, double-sided tape and a specific type of vinyl.
And when she couldn’t find the right type of vinyl, she drove all the way to Cleveland to get it!
In her search for the right type of foam, Katie contacted May We Help volunteer Gary Wolford, whose company, Thaman Rubber, volunteered to machine cut the sheets of vinyl into individual pieces, saving tons of time and ensuring a high-quality finished product!
The vinyl pieces will be completed on Wednesday, and on Thursday, from noon-4pm, May We Help volunteers will assemble 1,200 face shields to fill requests from Drake, Carespring, St. Elizabeth, and Good Samaritan hospitals!

#covid_19 #covıd19 #covid #healthcareworkers #healthcareheroes #healthcareheros #faceshield #faceshields #ppe #hospital #community #covidresponse #helpingothers #helpeachother #helpinghealthcareworkers #volunteer #volunteering

William has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which kee

William has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which keeps him from being able to self-propel a manual wheelchair. Yet insurance won’t cover a powerchair for him! So May We Help donated this power chair, and May We Help volunteers modified it to suit William’s needs in time for his 11th birthday! What better gift is there to give than greater independence! #disabled #disabledandcute #disabledlife #powerchains #wheelchair #wheelchairlife #wheelchairs #independence #independentliving #livingwithadisability #freedom #hug #stander #volunteer #volunteering #adaptiveequipment

Showdown is the blind community’s answer to air

Showdown is the blind community’s answer to air hockey. A special ball filled with BBs allows players to navigate the game by hearing the ball.
Twelve May We Help volunteers put in 330 hours building three Showdown tables for Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Two of those volunteers are shown here testing the tables before they debuted them yesterday at the Ohio Regional Braille Challenge!
#blind #blindpeople #blindpeopleproblems #brailleskateboarding #blindlife #livingwithblindness #visuallyimpaired #adaptivesports #disabled #disabledlife #adaptiveathlete #showdown

James’s mom wrote May We Help that she would lov

James’s mom wrote May We Help that she would love it if James had a toy where he “would not be stuck on the sidelines watching his twin brother and older sister play.” So May We Help volunteers modified this car. And look who’s watching from the sidelines now! #gobabygo #gobabygocar #electriccar #modifiedcars #modifiedcar #disabledchild #adaptivesports

Abby needs assistance when she has to go long dist

Abby needs assistance when she has to go long distances, but it’s uncomfortable for adult caregivers who have to hunch over her walker. So May We Help volunteers made a push handle that caregivers can easily attach and detach! #nimbo #nimbowalker #disabled #disabledlife #adaptivewalker #cerebralpalsy #cerebralpalsykids

Noah is missing the lower half of his right arm an

Noah is missing the lower half of his right arm and was off-balance when trying to ride a two-wheeled bike. So May We Help volunteers made this modification to his handle bars, and now he’s got the control he needs! #bike #bikelife #bikes #biketrip #biketour #biketours #bikeroute #bicycle #bicycles #bicycling #bicyclelife #bicycletouring #disabled #disabledlife #disabledlifestyle #adaptiveathlete #adaptivesports #adaptivebike #adaptivebikes

Andrew loves to work at his desk but needed one th

Andrew loves to work at his desk but needed one that could adapt to more than one environment. So May We Help volunteers made this adjustable desk that allows Andrew to use it when he’s in bed or in his stander. #adaptivefurniture #furniture #furnituredesign #desk #adaptivedesign #adaptiveworkplace #adaptiveworkenvironment #adaptivelifestyle

What if you can’t swing a bat but want to play b

What if you can’t swing a bat but want to play baseball in the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League? That’s the problem May We Help volunteers solved back in 2016 with the Batter Up, which allows kids to step up to the plate and experience the delight of their ball soaring through the air!
This year, May We Help volunteers designed and built adaptive putters for the Miracle League’s new miniature golf course, allowing kids who can’t swing a golf club to still play putt-putt! #golf #golfswing #golflife #golfforkids #adaptiveathlete #adaptivegolf #adaptivegolfer #miniaturegolf #puttputt #puttputtgolf

Maddie has Rett Syndrome, which affects nearly eve

Maddie has Rett Syndrome, which affects nearly every aspect of her life, including the motor skills needed to ride a bike.
So May We Help volunteers adapted this bike for Maddie, and now she’s experiencing all the physical and emotional benefits bike riding brings!

#bike #bikelife #bikeride #bikes #bikesforkids #adaptivesports #adaptivebike #adaptivebikes #rettsyndrome #rettsyndromeawareness

John Mock, @may_we_help volunteer and board member

John Mock, @may_we_help volunteer and board member, set the tone for @may_we_help’s 2nd Annual Halloween Festival! #halloweencostume #halloween #halloweenmakeup #halloweencostumes #halloween🎃👻 #halloweendance #halloweendancing #halloweenparty #halloweenpartyideas #halloweenfunny #halloweenfun🎃 #halloweenfunny #halloweenfunnies #funhalloween #holloweencostume

Halloween is @may_we_help’s favorite holiday, be

Halloween is @may_we_help’s favorite holiday, because it’s the one day of the year when kids with power chairs can be the envy of everyone on the block! That’s because @may_we_help volunteers and students from UC’s Theatre Arts program came together to create 20 amazing costumes that mount to kids’ power chairs, and which the kids debuted at May We Help’s 2nd Annual Halloween Festival! #halloweencostume #halloween #halloweenmakeup #halloweencostumes #halloween2019 #halloweenparty #halloweenspirit #disabled #kidswithdisabilities #powerchair #powerchairs #wheelchair #wheelchairgirl #wheelchairlife #wheelchairfashion #wheelchairlifestyle

Jonathan has Noonan Syndrome and relies on a conti

Jonathan has Noonan Syndrome and relies on a continuous feed tube. But when he started walking, the tubing got tangled around his feet, causing all sorts of problems. Because he can’t tolerate a shorter feed tube and is too mobile for the pump and feed to attach to an IV pole, his family tried using a specialized backpack, but that didn’t work either due to Jonathan’s muscle weakness and sensory modulation issues.

Here’s how Mom put it: “It is limiting his ability to explore the world and for us to enjoy activities as a family. Jonathan’s physical therapist believes May We Help can help devise a solution. We have nowhere else to turn. When I heard about your organization, I felt hope for Jonathan’s future!” So May We Help volunteers created a vest to hold Jonathan’s pump and feed, and Mom sent us these pics and words of thanks: “The vest looks sooooo cute! Jonathan loves that he looks like Woody. Thank you guys so very much for putting in all the brain power, ingenuity, time and talents in helping us design and sew this vest!” #noonansyndrome #noonan #noonansyndromeawareness #feedtube #feedingtubeawarenessweek #feedingtubeawareness #kidswithdisabilities #childrenwithdisabilities

May We Help has partnered with UC’s Master of Oc

May We Help has partnered with UC’s Master of Occupational Therapy program, and the program’s curriculum now includes UC students working alongside May We Help volunteers to prototype project solutions. The student pictured here created a prototype device for Abby, a jewelry maker with severely limited dexterity in her hands and fingers, that allows Abby to use the tools of her trade without assistance. #jewelry #jewelrymaking #jewelrydesigner #jewelrydesign #jewelrymaking #jewelrymakingclasses #jewelrymakingsupplies #independence #independentliving #independentlivingskills #independentwoman #occupationaltherapy #occupationaltherapystudent #occupationaltherapyassistant #occupationaltherapy

For Caleb, using his hands is much easier than usi

For Caleb, using his hands is much easier than using his feet to control his favorite toy, a John Deere tractor, so May We Help volunteers modified it by adding push-button technology to the steering wheel, plus more supportive seating. #driving #disabled #disability #fun #play #kids #kidshavingfun

Maybe you can’t stand or walk, but that doesn’

Maybe you can’t stand or walk, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ride a horse! May We Help volunteers modified this saddle for Sakia that allows her to ride a horse on her own! #horse #horses #horsesofinstagram #horsegirl #horseshoebend #horsebackriding #horseback #horseworld #horsemanship #equestrian #horseandrider #wheelchair #wheelchairgirl #wheelchairlife #disabled #disabledlife #cerebralpalsy #cerebralpalsykids #cerebralpalsymom #cerebral_palsy

Farrah plays the cello with her feet and needed a

Farrah plays the cello with her feet and needed a better way to hold the bow, so @may_we_help volunteers created this device for her. #cello #violin #stringedinstrument #adaptivemusic #disabledmusicians #band #bandpractice #musician #musicians #musicianlife

Insurance only covers one wheelchair every five ye

Insurance only covers one wheelchair every five years, which means – if you’ve already got a power chair – you won’t be covered for a manual chair. But Sophia needed a manual wheelchair for school, and found one at the @may_we_help Adaptive Equipment Swap which @may_we_help volunteers modified to suit her needs. #wheelchair #wheelchairgirl #wheelchairlife #wheelchairuser #disabled #disabledlife #disabledkids #kidswithdisabilities #adaptiveathlete #adaptiveequipment #solutions# #hope

Nick was on the ketogenic diet to control his seiz

Nick was on the ketogenic diet to control his seizures but it wasn’t ideal nutritionally. When the seizures lessened, Nick was able to begin eating normally, and quickly outgrew his bike during a 7-inch growth spurt! So @may_we_help volunteers modified this new bike for Nick just in time for football season, as Nick is the manager for his JV football team, and needs the bike to assist his teammates. #epilepsy #epilepsyawareness #epilepsysucks #epilepsywarrior #disabled #disabledlife #football #highschoolfootball #manager #ketogenic #wheelchair #wheelchairgirl #wheelchairlife #bicycle #sidelines

Not everyone can stand or walk, but everyone can f

Not everyone can stand or walk, but everyone can fly! So @may_we_help volunteers teamed up with iFLY Cincinnati to create solutions for people with disabilities to participate in its Adaptive Flight program. #ifly #fly #freedom #disabled #disabledlife #cerebralpalsy #cerebralpalsymom #cerebralpalsykids #cerebralpalsywarrior #adaptivesports #sports

@maywehelp’s July Adaptive Equipment Swap matche

@maywehelp’s July Adaptive Equipment Swap matched 65 pieces of equipment: hoyer lifts, gait trainers, standers, wheelchairs, bikes, strollers and more! Just as importantly, the NEAR Foundation in Canton, OH was inspired by it and held an adaptive equipment swap for their community this past Sunday! We also got a call from a member of the Team Sanfilippo Foundation who heard about the swap and wants to offer one in Long Island! Who knows, maybe the idea of adaptive equipment swaps will continue to catch on, and one day every community will offer them, helping ensure that everyone has access to the equipment they need to lead independent lives and pursue their passions! #disabled #disabledlife #wheelchair #wheelchairgirl #wheelchairs #wheelchairlife #wheelchairmodel #wheelchairrugby #wheelchairtravel #wheelchairtennis #wheelchairsports #wheelchairfashion #wheelchairlifestyle #wheelchairfitness #adaptiveathlete #adaptivesports #adaptiveequipment #gaittrainer #hoyerlift #cerebralpalsy #cerebralpalsykids

Abigail has a terminal genetic disorder called San

Abigail has a terminal genetic disorder called Sanfilippo syndrome, which keeps her from talking, walking, standing or eating on her own. But this pool float, created by @may_we_help volunteers, provides her independence in the pool. It allows Abigail to be fully submerged in the water, and – because it doesn’t require her to hold on to anything – Abigail’s arms, legs, hands and feet are free! #sanfillipposyndrome #pool #poolfloat #poolfloats #poolfloaties #poolfloatie #poolfloatss #disabled #disabledlife #disabledswimmer #disabledswimming #kidswithdisabilities

Morgan is constantly seeking deep pressure and pro

Morgan is constantly seeking deep pressure and proprioceptive input, sometimes in destructive and dangerous ways. So @may_we_help volunteers built this bed which provides the sensory input Morgan craves in safe and productive ways with elements like a climbing wall, monkey bars, crash pad and hammock swing. #autism #autismawareness #autismmom #sensoryprocessing #sensoryprocessingdisorder #sensoryprocessingdisorderparentsupport #proprioceptive #proprioceptiveinput #proprioceptivetraining #bed #bedroom #bedroomideas #disabledlife #disabled #kidswithdisabilities