A Mariemont-area nonprofit founded by three volunteers who all happened to be named Bill expects to serve more than 2,000 people with disabilities in 2026, up from 1,700 last year, and east-side residents can support the mission at its annual Engineering Dreams Gala on Friday, Sept. 11.

May We Help, headquartered at 7501 Wooster Pike, designs, builds and delivers custom mobility and adaptive devices at no cost to recipients. The organization traces its roots to 2003, when co-founder Bill Wood built a page-turning device for a young woman with cerebral palsy who had been using a pencil in her mouth to flip book pages.

Wood, along with industrial designer Bill Sand and plastics manufacturer Bill Deimling, traded solutions informally for years before formalizing as a 501(c)(3) in 2010. That year, Wood learned he was dying of cancer and told his partners, "We really need to carry this forward," according to a Soapbox Media profile published Aug. 11. He created the William H. Wood Foundation, which provided partial funding and donated the building that became May We Help's workshop, the former Tire Discounters office.

Deimling, now president of DEIMLING/Jeliho Plastics, Inc., has stayed with the organization for 16 years since that conversation, including after suffering a stroke. "It really is our legacy," he told Soapbox Media.

The growth has been steep. May We Help served 100 people in 2019, pivoted to Zoom-based project management during the pandemic, expanded to 44 states and several countries, and served more than 1,700 individuals in 2025. Project manager Beau Bramer said the organization projects topping 2,000 this year.

Since 2019, the nonprofit's adaptive equipment donation program has given away more than $1 million worth of devices, all free of charge, according to the organization's website.

The operation runs on three full-time and two part-time employees and a rotating corps of volunteer engineers, welders, woodworkers, seamstresses, physical therapists and doctors. On a recent visit by a Soapbox reporter, volunteer Bob Woolf was building a custom pink-and-gray playhouse kitchen set for a 12-year-old autistic girl whose developmental needs meant mass-produced options wouldn't fit.

Gala details

The Engineering Dreams Gala is set for Friday, Sept. 11, from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the Cincinnati Music Hall Ballroom, 1243 Elm St. Tickets are $150 per person, and sponsorships are available. Last year's gala helped the organization serve more than 1,000 individuals and families.

May We Help is also hunting for a permanent home. In a Feb. 17 press release, executive director Greg Waddell announced the organization needs 20,000 to 35,000 square feet of mixed-use space inside the I-275 loop. The Soapbox profile reports that a temporary facility with a three-year lease is being completed and a capital campaign to fund a permanent headquarters will begin soon.

How to volunteer

Volunteer meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month (except December) at 6 p.m. The next meeting falls on Tuesday, Sept. 15. No engineering degree is required; the organization welcomes woodworkers, seamstresses, therapists and anyone willing to learn. Contact May We Help at (513) 834-6443 or visit maywehelp.org.

Upcoming

  • Friday, Sept. 11 — Engineering Dreams Gala, Cincinnati Music Hall, 6:30–10:30 p.m. Tickets: $150. maywehelp.org/engineering-dream-gala/
  • Tuesday, Sept. 15 — May We Help volunteer meeting, 6 p.m. maywehelp.org/volunteer/