Keeping People With Disabilities Moving!
Our History

Friends of Disabled Adults & Children

After retiring from a 20-year career in the Marines in 1978, Ed Butchart took a position selling medical diagnostics products. He began meeting disabled people and began to help them with small chores in their homes. Ed, and his wife, Annie, (who passed away in 2004), formally incorporated Friends of Disabled Adults (FODA) in 1986. They started a service in their garage where they would refurbish and repair wheelchairs and give them away. Jack Ballard, then senior minister of Mount Carmel Christian Church offered to provide financial support to the new ministry. God’s remarkable provision for this effort was underway!

FODA was created as a stand-alone Georgia non-profit entity on September 26, 1986. Full-time ministry began on May 1, 1987. FODA was ruled a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization on November 10, 1987 by the IRS.

Since our inception FODA has assisted many children, however initially our name did not reflect that fact for many years. On June 1, 1997, we became Friends of Disabled Adults and Children (FODAC). Our new name reflected our desire to reach out to all people with disabilities, regardless of age. Since then, the ministry has helped people ranging in age from 18 months to 104 years.

FODAC is currently housed in a 64,800 square foot building in Stone Mountain, Georgia with a full-time staff of 22 and an annual budget of over $1.5 million. To date, FODAC has provided over 20,000 wheelchairs. The retail value of all medical equipment that has been given away now totals over 50 million.

Such growth would not have been possible without the extraordinary support of members of the corporate and philanthropic community, as well as many faithful individual supporters. Tucker Concrete has hosted an annual golf tournament which has raised over $350,000 in its 11-year history. The late John Conant and the Harland Foundation have been one of many foundations that have provided much needed financial support to FODAC.

Such support has allowed FODAC to serve people in new and innovative ways including programs that provide home and vehicle modifications. These programs allow FODAC to make a major impact on the quality of life for people with disabilities.