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photos provided by RePlay for Kids
Cleveland Sight Center staffers weren’t sure what stimuli would cause their client — a child who is deaf and has low vision — to respond. Then, a device from RePlay for Kids was introduced.
RePlay, which modifies, adapts, repairs and distributes free toys and assistive devices for children with disabilities and other conditions, had rigged a bar wrapped in star-shaped string lights to activate using a simple switch — the nonprofit’s main method of customization.
“They couldn’t get her to respond to anything,” says Bill Memberg, president and founder of the nonprofit, which has spaces in Medina and Solon. “They got her to hit the switch, the lights would turn on, and she responded. And they didn’t know that she could recognize that level of light.”
The child’s therapy plans changed due to the staff’s new understanding of her perception — an illustration of the importance of RePlay’s mission. The organization works to provide modified toys through toy repair and adaptation workshops, an annual Adapted Toy Giveaway and other services. By adapting, repairing and distributing accessible toys and devices and more, RePlay is helping to ensure that kids of all abilities join in the fun.
“Kids learn through playing. If they can play with a toy that talks back to them, or that moves around or lights up, they … learn the cause-and-effect relationship,” Memberg says. “They’re learning how to interact with their environment.”
The roots of RePlay date back to 1989. Having graduated with a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University, Memberg came across an ad in The Plain Dealer, seeking a volunteer to fix a box of various broken toys and devices for the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities. He fixed the objects, brought the box back and was given another. His engineering colleagues began to help him, and they formalized the idea of repair workshops.
In time, a therapist asked Memberg if he could adapt a battery-powered toy to make it more accessible. He found that adding an alternate wire and input jack to a battery-powered toy made it possible to plug in alternate activation switches — creating larger, more easily accessible targets for children with physical and developmental disabilities, injuries and other conditions, such as those with low vision, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, autism, traumatic brain injuries and more.
“A lot of agencies were interested in that,” Memberg recounts. “It started growing and growing.”
Memberg founded RePlay as a nonprofit in 1999. After a fundraiser, RePlay hired director of operations Natalie Wardega in 2007 to help with the expanding work — and was later able to bring on eight other part-time employees. Three years ago, RePlay began renting a creative space in Solon to store toys and conduct workshops for volunteers. It also has administrative offices in Medina.
Today, RePlay sources toys from company- and community-driven drives — which collect new and gently-used battery-powered toys — and purchases them with funds from grants, sponsorships and private donors. The toys are then modified through RePlay’s workshops and distributed, mainly during an annual Adapted Toy Giveaway, to families and representatives from agencies, school districts, education centers and hospitals working with children with disabilities — such as Akron Children’s and the Cleveland Clinic. This year’s main distribution date is Nov. 23.
“Now that school classrooms are becoming more integrated with disabled and non-disabled kids, some of the toys we adapt are from the latest Marvel movie,” Memberg says. “They’ll bring their toy in, but they can play with it with a switch. And their non-disabled peers have the same toy, and they would come over and play with them.”
In a typical toy adapting workshop, toys are re-wired, through soldering, to work with accessible switch plates — either existing switches or 3-D printed switches designed by RePlay and put together by volunteers. In order to adapt and repair a large number of toys and devices — and to teach others how to modify items for those with disabilities — the nonprofit also offers a myriad of other workshops and programs.
In 2023, 134 workshops were held, including toy repair workshops, in which volunteers fix broken items; family toy adapting workshops, in which families of kids with disabilities learn how to adapt toys; and STEM workshops, in which high school students learn about electronics and engineering while customizing items. RePlay also works on ride-on car adaptations, in which ride-on cars such as Power Wheels are adapted. Through the RePlay@Home program, RePlay gives free accessible toys directly to low-income families.
The volunteers are a diverse group. “It could be anybody, from a therapist … to a parent that wants to learn how to adapt toys,” Wardega says. “We also have community volunteers. So, Nestle, Swagelok, Deloitte, they have big days of caring, so they’ll send a group. … We either have people come in here, to our creative space in Solon, or we go to their location.”
Joe Grill, a Hinckley-based retired electromechanical repairman, is a volunteer. He’s been working with RePlay for about two years — and is committed to his role, adjusting and finalizing toys adapted in workshops to ensure they’re ready for distribution. Grill regularly adds remote switch capabilities to toys and has even constructed a modified, cushioned seat for a ride-on car.
“I’ll get those toys that were unfinished or need repair, and I fix them or finish adapting them,” he says. “When I participate in a workshop, I help teach or show individuals how to adapt the toy.”
Grill began volunteering at RePlay after his wife passed away in 2021. He found that giving back also allowed him to help himself.
“For 72 years, I was in a family environment, and then it seemed like overnight it was gone. So, I started looking for volunteer work,” Grill says. “My wife always loved children. I love children. So, for me to do something to help the kids, it’s really rewarding.”
Above his workbench, Grill keeps a photo, sent by a grateful mother, of Destiny — one of RePlay’s recipients, who uses a wheelchair. Grill adapted several toys for her, including stuffed Blue’s Clues toys.
“I’m doing something good. It makes my life feel meaningful and worthwhile,” Grill says. “I’ve been a repairman all my adult life, my working career, so I always feel good when I can repair something.”
Those who volunteer for workshops don’t need to be experts — staff members are available for instruction, and toys that don’t pass inspection can be corrected by experienced volunteers like Grill. The only prerequisite for helping out, Wardega says, is a willingness to learn. In 2023, 2,507 volunteers helped to adapt 2,079 toys — and 19,370 toys have been repaired or adapted by RePlay over the past decade.
That impact can be seen at the annual giveaway. “There’s a lot of tears,” Wardega says. “You can walk into Wal-Mart and buy any toy you want, but there’s no store that you can walk into to buy an adapted toy. … It’s a really, really wonderful, fun experience. The families are just so appreciative.”
Adapted toys allow children with disabilities to learn and communicate. Memberg was told that a child with autism, who would not respond to more standard accessible devices, did respond to a RePlay-adapted fan — which emits flashing lights and music when activated. This allowed his therapists and teachers to motivate him further.
“These kids, it’s hard for them. And using [a] communication device and going through therapy, to them, that’s a challenge. But … something fun, like an animated toy or something that lights up — all of a sudden, they want to see that,” Wardega says. “Instead of having somebody put their hand on the switch, they’re reaching for it.”
Creative space for volunteers, 6190 Cochran Road E, Solon; Administrative offices, 600 W. Sturbridge Drive, Medina;
330-721-8281, replayforkids.org
