All the way back in 1957, Jack (John) Fowler felt deeply frustrated with the lack of outdoor recreational opportunities for youth with disabilities. He started a non-profit camp -- the Fowler Center -- and developed it over the years into a year-round center available to youth and adults with special needs -- mentally & physically challenged, brain injured, and the like. This center has opened up a whole new world for persons who could not go to a traditional camp and experience the kind of opportunities this outdoor setting provides.

Jack had worked as a teacher at the time when he decided to create a place that would offer recreational and educational opportunities for disabled youth. Jack would, over the years, expand the center to include programs for adults with disabilities.

He and his wife Reta, now deceased, began their project by taking in nine boys with developmental disabilities from Detroit. Jack and his wife expanded their project, as they had untapped a great unmet need in the community. What started off as a small initiative for nine children in need has grown into a comprehensive camp for those with disabilities, which now accommodates some 4200 campers with disabilities each year.

After all these years, Jack Fowler remains an extraordinary man in his compassion and drive to help the disabled. He has kept the Fowler Center going -- and growing -- despite suffering from the encroaching ravages of cerebral palsy. In defiance of the physical toll this illness has exacted on his body, Jack’s spirit burns brightly, enabling him to continue overseeing the Fowler Center, and indeed, the planning for and carrying out of its expansion to reach more disabled children and adults.

To learn more about Jack Fowler and his cause, and how you can make a difference, please visit:
www.thefowlercenter.org.

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