May We Help provides unique and critical services to Individuals, Organizations, and the Community.

Individuals

Organizations

Community

Sometimes, a device is all that stands in the way of an individual with a disability achieving independence or pursuing their passion. When that device is not available in the marketplace, that’s when May We Help’s volunteers step in. They are a team of engineers, industrial designers, inventors, welders, woodworkers, seamstresses, doctors, occupational and physical therapists whose skill sets come together to design, build and deliver custom devices at no cost to hundreds of recipients every year.

May We Help is a game-changer for people with disabilities who are striving to become more independent or pursue a passion.

May We Help’s Workshop, where highly skilled volunteers create one-of-a-kind custom devices for people with disabilities.

In 2023, May We Help received over 1,200 requests for its services, and volunteers logged over 10,315 hours with a value to the community of $1.47 million.

May We Help provides solutions for other organizations that also serve people with disabilities.

Adaptive Equipment Swap

May We Help’s Adaptive Equipment Swaps leverage the inordinate amount of equipment stored in people’s basements by giving it a second use because, while the equipment may no longer be right for one person, it’s likely a fit for someone else! Since 2019, we’ve given away over $1.8 million worth of life-changing adaptive equipment – all at no charge!

Annual Halloween Festival

On Halloween, if you have a power chair, you can be the envy of everyone on the block. So, every year, May We Help teams up with students from UC’s Theatre Arts program to build customized costumes. Recipients debut their costumes at May We Help’s Annual Halloween Festival, then take the costumes home with them for Halloween!

Tinker Toy Box

Before they turn school age, the way kids learn is through play. But if their disability keeps a child from being able to play with the toys designed for their age group, this can leave a gap in development. May We Help’s Tinkered Toy Box solves this problem by providing free switch-adapted toys. Last year, as he does every year, Santa visited May We Help and personally gave away 200 modified toys! This year, we’ll provide 300 switch-adapted toys plus hold two workshops on how to do it yourself!

MWH Mission

May We Help provides free-of-cost support through volunteer led, innovative custom solutions and access to adaptive equipment.

MWH Vision

To empower everyone with disabilities to achieve independence and pursue their full potential by providing the tools they need to thrive, while fostering a spirit of giving within the community.

MWH Vision

Values

INNOVATION

For May We Help’s volunteers, nothing is more satisfying than using their skill sets to help others.

INCLUSION

May We Help seeks out opportunities to support and promote inclusion, recognizing that communities thrive when everyone is represented. In fact, many of the devices that May We Help volunteers build for recipients are the very thing that allows them to participate in inclusive activities!

EMPATHY

Empathy is key to May We Help volunteers creating solutions for the recipients we serve. Everyone at May We Help is committed to always considering the perspective of recipients, volunteers, donors, partners, and fellow staff.

GENEROSITY

Thanks to May We Help volunteers who give freely of their time and talent, and thanks to the generosity of May We Help’s generous supporters, we provide our services at no charge.

Our Story

How it all Started…

In 2003 (before Kindle!), an engineer named Bill Wood met a young lady with cerebral palsy who loved to read books but was using a pencil in her mouth to turn the pages, so Bill designed a device for her that turned the pages with the gentle push of a button.

About the same time, factory owner Bill Deimling was adapting assistive devices for a family friend with a disability. The friend’s physical therapist introduced the two Bills, and they joined forces to fill an unmet need: to create custom, commercial-grade assistive devices for people with disabilities.

Then, as fate would have it, one day when the two Bills were meeting at Bill Deimling’s factory, a third Bill – an engineer named Bill Sand – bumped into them, and the idea for May We Help was born.

Today, May We Help consists of 75 volunteer engineers, industrial designers, inventors, welders, woodworkers, seamstresses, doctors, occupational and physical therapists who come together to design, build and deliver custom devices at no cost to hundreds of recipients every year.

Learn more About Us