Friends of Disabled Adults and Children

Description

FODAC’s mission is to provide durable medical equipment (DME) such as wheelchairs and hospital beds at little or no cost to the disabled and their families. They seek to enhance the quality of life for people of all ages who have any type of illness or physical disability.

History

Ed and Annie Butchart (who passed away in 2004), started a service in their garage where they would refurbish and repair wheelchairs and give them away to those who couldn’t afford them, such as those who had little or no insurance. Impressed by the work they were doing, Jack Ballard, then senior minister of Mount Carmel Christian Church, offered to provide financial support. In 1986, the Butcharts formally incorporated Friends of Disabled Adults (FODA) as a stand-alone Georgia non-profit entity. FODA was ruled a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization on November 10, 1987 by the IRS.

On June 1, 1997, FODA became FODAC (Friends of Disabled Adults and Children). Our new name reflected our desire to reach out to all people with disabilities, regardless of age. Since then, the organization has helped people ranging in age from 18 months to 105 years of age. The leadership also changed in 2001 from the Founders to the current President, Chris Brand, who helped guide FODAC through tremendous growth and expansion of services and scope.

FODAC is currently housed in a 64,800 square foot building in Stone Mountain, Georgia with a full-time staff of 14 and part-time staff of 9, and an annual budget of over $1 million. To date, FODAC has provided over 29,000 wheelchairs and other equipment to help the disabled. The retail value of all medical equipment that has been given away now totals over $70 million.