It was a bitterly cold January evening in 2000, the end of a day Bill thought would never end. It had seemed like an exceptionally long day because the illness that he had been diagnosed with only a few weeks prior suddenly felt real to him. He had been in denial of this disease of Multiple Sclerosis. After all, he thought, how could he - a husband, a devoted father of two beautiful children, a man who had been healthy his whole life - be struck with such a potentially-debilitating, life-threatening disease? Bill went through all of the emotions after that chilling diagnosis - denial, sadness, despair, anger - everything anyone could possibly feel. But that particular January evening he felt something very different - as if God Himself was whispering loudly to him.
After being totally blind for 5 months and then regaining his vision and was able to behold his amazing family again, he felt compelled to give back to the universe, to do more to help others, to be of service to the less fortunate. That's when Bill had an epiphany - he would cope with and strive to rise beyond his illness by focusing on the needs of others. Then he asked himself, "Whom should I help?"
Bill always loved children and that was his first thought. He then decided he wanted to focus his energies on helping children with illnesses and disabilities. And so, Bill started the non-profit foundation Reachout America with the mission to send kids with illnesses, disabilities, and other hardships to camps that not only could help them be with children who were dealing with some of the same things they were dealing with, but also help them with other types of therapy.
Since June 2006, with Bill Chafin at the helm, Reachout America has not only sent many kids to various camps across our country, including awesome horse riding camps that offer Hypnotherapy and space camps for children who dream of flying to the moon. His efforts have not only helped children with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, Autism, Congenial Heart disease, and countless other challenges by coordinating many of the details necessary to have them actually attend the camps, but also contributed funds to these camps so they can help other kids continue their therapy.
Reachout America continues to both raise money through various unique programs and seek volunteers so that many other children can continue to go to camp and therapy. With your help - the help of individual people and corporate contributors - Bill's personal nightmare transformed into a blessing and a dream has come true for hundreds of children across America.
Submitted by Anonymous
We've all had people in our lives who have made a positive impact on us. A parent or grandparent, a sibling who was there for us, or maybe even just a guy who shines shoes for a living? Whoever they are, tell us their story so they can inspire us even more.
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