Reachout America was incorporated in the state of Georgia in 2005 and received IRS 501(c)3 public charity status in June of 2006. All donations are tax exempt to the fullest extent of the law. Reachout America is dedicated to helping kids across America. While sending kids to camp is our main focus, here are some of the other things we have done to help the children across America.

     Education is so very important in today's surroundings and conditions, and we want to make sure the kids have just what they need to make the grade. Help us help the kids with your donations of educational software, school supplies, book bags or cash donations. We will apply these donations to the schools or needy students across America.

     Kids without obvious needs, need our help too!  Children are living on the streets in major cities, small towns, and in most suburbs in the United States. Some kids manage to stay with other kids they meet in cheap hotels, motels, in the parks and abandoned buildings, on the streets, and many other unsavory places. While we can't help every kid directly, we can help the many youth shelters across America.

     Children in your community: Do you know of a family in need of our help? Are they just too proud to ask for the help? We would like to hear about these families to see if we can help in some way. You just let us know - we're here for the kids and their families.

Bill Chafin
Executive Director

   Reachout America has a volunteer Board of Directors who offer vision and guidance to our mission. Our founder, Bill Chafin, has "a heart for the children" and is actively involved in the day-to-day operations of Reachout America. Mr. Chafin is particularly fond of Hippotherapy camps (Therapeutic Horse Riding), but any camp that serves disabled or special needs children holds a special place in his heart. 

The Story of Bill

   It was a bitterly cold January evening in 2000, the end of a day Bill thought would never come to an 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 to him.

   After being totally blind for 5 months and then regaining his vision and was able to behold his wonderful 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 other 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 at the helm, Reachout America has not only sent many kids to various camps across the country, including awesome horse riding camps that offer Hippotherapy and space camps for children who dream of flying to the moon. His efforts have not only helped children with Cerebral Palsy, Downs Syndrome, Autism, Congenial Heart disease and countless other challenges by coordinating many of the details necessary to have them attend the camps, but also contributes 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 has transformed into a blessing and a dream has come true for hundreds of children across America.

     This program is really quite simple and can be accomplished anywhere. We can guide you through setting up a public fundraising campaign, such as: handing out flyers, beginning a recycling program, placing collection containers in retail market places, organizing car washes, yard sales, finding sponsors, etc., and the proceeds will sponsor a child or camp in your area.

     Thousands of hours a year are volunteered to public, nonprofit causes by people who have run-ins with the law, need service learning hours for school, or are just really nice people that want to give back and help their community. Community Service is a valuable tool, and at Reachout America we have a "help the kids" community service program. This program was designed to fit into your community service hours objective, while helping the kids in your community. Our hope is to create an experience that affords you the opportunity to pause, think or reflect on what you have been through, and to assess (or reassess) your values and life goals.