CINCINNATI, Ohio — May We Help, a Cincinnati nonprofit, has grown to a team of over 75 volunteers who help modify equipment that gives more life to their clients, all for no cost.
What You Need To Know
- May We Help is a non-profit in Cincinnati that specializes in making and modifying equipment for the disabled community to make daily life just a little bit easier
- Over 75 volunteers allow everything at May We Help to be free to the clients
- The organization is celebrating 10 years this year
For 3-year-old Emma Black, that means she can finally go on the beach thanks to volunteers at May We Help. They're helping modify a stroller that can easily go into the sand.
“Right now, she’s immobile," said Emma's mother, Jill Black. "So being able to have something like this will make a huge difference.”
Emma has Rett syndrome, a neurological disorder that impacts just about every aspect of her life. That's why Emma's mom approached the nonprofit with the hope of building a stroller that could be used on the beach for their upcoming summer vacation.
So, a team of volunteers got to work.
“We thought we would try to replace the wheels on it with big rubber wheels," said Mike Hinzman, a volunteer working on Emma's stroller.
“We’re very excited to be able to use this on vacation as well as be able to use it for walks around our house," Jill Black said. "It’ll be very nice. She sits very well in it. So we’re excited.”
The stroller will also be able to be used in daily life, thanks to interchangeable wheels.
“Make the wheels just clip in and out with a little clip so that she can clip them on and off so that she can replace the original wheels with the rubber wheels so that if she uses it in the mall or in the neighborhood, it’s lightweight and she can use it like a regular stroller," Hinzman said.
And while the new equipment can be life-changing for May We Help clients like Emma, it’s also very rewarding for the volunteers that make the dreams a reality.