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It all began in 1998 when a nurse, Carrie Goodwin, noticed a sad thing - families of children with special needs were being turned away from an out-patient facility because they could not afford the bills. They would be told, "You get what you pay for" and "That's the real world." Carrie saw a different answer. She began envisioning a facility where special needs and medically-fragile children would not be turned away. Instead, they would be embraced with Christian love and healing arms, regardless of their family's financial situation.
Soon, Goodwin's father, Dick Kleinau, captured her vision of such a place. Kleinau, known in Middle Tennessee as "The Blueberry Man" for his delicious blueberry patch, witnessed the financial sufferings that the family of a child with special needs experiences; his own grandson had special needs. Kleinau, along with The Christy Houston Foundation in Rutherford County, put forth the funds that enabled Goodwin to build a facility and open the doors debt free. In September 1998, with the support of the community and a few good volunteers, Special Kids, Inc. opened its doors for the children. Since then, Special Kids has served more than 1,200 families in eleven counties.
"That's 1,700 parents affected, 3,400 grandparents, aunts, uncles, and siblings all hearing the word of God because of Special Kids, exclaims Goodwin. "Now that's an awesome feeling!"
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