RePlay hosts Halloween 5K and one-mile fun walk

GRANGER TWP. — On Sunday, more than 130 people participated in RePlay for Kids' Halloween 5K and one-mile fun walk fundraiser. The fundraiser was held at Medina County Board of Developmental Disabilities, 4691 Windfall Road, to raise funds for RePlay for Kids' mission of adapting toys for children with disabilities. RePlay founder and president Bill Memberg said the organization started back in 1989 when he graduated from Case Western Reserve University. He saw an ad from the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities looking for someone to fix a couple of toys and devices. "I'm an engineer, and my master's work was with people with disabilities," Memberg said. "It seemed like that was something I would be able to do. I grabbed a box, brought it home, fixed what I could, brought it back a month later, and then they gave me another box." After repairing a couple of boxes of toys, Memberg's coworkers asked him to bring in boxes for all of them to work on. "We started doing that two or three times a year," he said. "Some of the stuff was like a communication device with a broken wire to the battery. Two minutes soldering it, and it's working. It's like a $250 device. It was really worthwhile." Eventually, a nonprofit was formed to continue Memberg's efforts. He said RePlay for Kids now works with over 200 agencies and schools all across Northeast Ohio. The organization also began modifying toys and devices to make them usable by children with disabilities. "Like a Tickle Me Elmo, you have to squeeze his belly to make him laugh," Memberg said. "A child with a disability might not be able to do that. You can go in and solder a couple of wires to the switch inside and bring it out to a jack so an external switch can be plugged into it." He said RePlay is able to adapt toys to a child's abilities to make sure kids are getting the toys they need and deserve. The organization hosts fundraisers to raise money for toy adaptation and repair, including Sunday's event, which was the second year RePlay has hosted the 5K. This year, around 135 people participated in the fundraiser. Memberg said they hope the event gets bigger each year to bring more attention to RePlay for Kids and its mission. He said they are always looking for volunteers, sponsors, and supporters for assistance. For more information on the organization, visit https://replayforkids.org/. Contact reporter Patrick Rhonemus at (330) 721–4050 or prhonemus@medina-gazette.com.