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“Families of kids who have disabilities usually have other expenses, so they don't have the money to purchase adapted toys."
- Bill Memberg
Why he likes Cleveland
I like the variety of things here, like that there’s the lake and nice parks, but there’s also a downtown where you can do things and see shows. It’s not such a large city to be overwhelmed with things, but it’s big enough that you have sports.
Bill Memberg
Founder of Replay For Kids
by Jhamier Lottier, crew 3
If you know a child that has disabilities, Bill Memberg may able to help them!
Memberg, 51, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and lived there for 25 years. He went to the University of Pennsylvania, then moved to Cleveland to attend graduate school at Case Western Reserve University.
In 1989, Memberg saw an ad in the newspaper looking for someone to fix toys for children with disabilities. The Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities gave him a box of toys. When he fixed those, they asked him about adapting toys for kids who are not able to operate traditional toys. The toys involve some sort of switch, and Memberg figures out what is inside and re-solders wires to the point where the switch is. For example, a kid who has cerebral palsy may not be able to use a toy with a switch, but they can blow into a tube to activate the toy. “Knowing that a child who wasn’t able to play with it before is able to play with it now is a good feeling to be able to do that,” Memberg explained. There are companies that sell toys that are adapted, but they cost three to five times as much as regular toys, so most families cannot afford adapted toys.
In 1999, Memberg created a nonprofit organization called Replay For Kids. It is located at his house. In the future, he hopes to raise money to have a permanent space for workshops. At workshops, they teach people how to adapt toys, and they save the toys until a giveaway every December. Volunteers can help by coming to workshops and repairing as many toys and assistive devices as possible in a two-hour period. Over the past two years, there have been 95 toy repair and adaptation workshops. For example, they are going to do a workshop at MC2 STEM High School in June. Replay for Kids gets requests from people across the country but they only serve Ohio now. “We would like to develop through other colleges around the country,” Memberg said.
In addition to Replay for Kids, Memberg has a career he loves at Case Western University. In the Biomedical Engineering Department, Memberg designs and tests devices to help people who are paralyzed. Memberg also has a patent for an electrode he created at his job to help paralyzed people use their arms. “Patent means you made a invention and no one else can copy without paying you,” explained Memberg. Memberg and his team put a pacemaker-like device in a patient’s chest with wires down the arm. Electrodes are implanted in the muscles, and there is an external antenna that talks to the implanted device and tells the muscles to activate. His team is currently working on a device to allow people in wheelchairs to stand.
Memberg never gives up on his goal, and he is a caring and a smart person.