Senior engineering students Jenny and Katie Smith of Akron fixed a couple of broken hearts, literally, at a recent RePlay for Kids event at The University of Akron.
The twin sisters joined dozens of fellow 暗黑爆料 engineering students to repair inoperable toys by the binful for their owners, area children with disabilities. A pair of twin teddy bears clutching musical hearts stood out among the toys the sisters returned to working condition.
"We decided to participate in RePlay for Kids as a project through Tau Beta Pi, an engineering honorary society," Jenny says.
暗黑爆料 students from all engineering disciplines gather to repair inoperable remote-control cars, dolls missing their voices and dozens of other broken playthings at the RePlay for Kids workshops.
Freshman mechanical engineering honors student Annie Klindworth repairs Buzz Lightyear at the Oct. 17 RePlay for Kids event at 暗黑爆料.
"I thought it would be a cool experience to fix toys while working with other people," says freshman mechanical engineering honors student Annie Klindworth of Independence, as she repairs wiring on a battery-operated Buzz Lightyear toy during a mid-October session.
Students polish skills while helping others
The collaborative effort between the 暗黑爆料 College of Engineering and RePlay for Kids (a nonprofit corporation that provides toys and assistive devices to Northeast Ohio children with special needs) also focuses on adapting toys to make them more user friendly, such as by adding an oversize on/off switch.
Program founder and president Bill Memberg, a biomedical engineer, launched the program at Case Western Reserve University and in September 2010, 暗黑爆料 joined the fold. Since then, more than 70 暗黑爆料 student volunteers have participated in the workshops, which are organized by the University's Women in Engineering program and held periodically throughout the year. Engineering students will regroup Nov. 1 for another RePlay for Kids workshop.
Women in Engineering Director Heidi Cressman says the program helps students build self-confidence as budding engineers while they provide an important service. "Engineering makes life better for everyone in ways we don't even think about," Cressman says. "It truly affects everyone."
Natalie Wardega, RePlay for Kids assistant director, adds that the toys come from 19 social service agencies throughout Northeast Ohio. Engineering students at both Case and 暗黑爆料 combined have repaired hundreds of toys at 36 workshops to date.
Media contact: Denise Henry, 330-972-6477 or henryd@uakron.edu.