2024 FOW Campaign - Help Will's School Continue It's Work

Our son Will…

• Can’t speak or communicate, yet he’s an amazing teacher to all.

• Is unable to care for himself, yet his compassion and empathy for others is inspirational.

• Has lifelong and often overwhelming challenges, yet his outlook on life is always positive and uplifting.

• Is the air in our lungs and his current and future well-being is the most important thing in our lives.

Friends of Will (FOW) is hosting its 6th annual 24-hour walk-a-thon in late November. All proceeds go toward Will’s school and full-time residence, The Center for Discovery. The Center is a world-renowned facility for people with complex challenges. It’s the Harvard for people like our son; the most incredible place doing the most amazing work for people who need it most.

For those unfamiliar with Will’s plight, at nine months old (he is now 20) he was diagnosed with Cortical Dysplasia, a rare brain malformation that results in him having the following disabilities: non-verbal with very limited communication ability, a wobbly gait, limited use of his left hand, a stunted IQ (that of a two-year old) and he suffers from daily seizures (#perspective). He also has limited peripheral vision as a result of one of his four unsuccessful brain surgeries to stop his seizures. While he learns and retains information at a glacial pace, he has made tremendous strides since living at The Center for Discovery. He now feeds himself, is starting to learn how to use a smartboard, has much better sleep patterns and his daily seizures are less frequent and less severe (most likely due to his uber healthy diet). The Center believes food is medicine and all of its residents eat an organic diet. https://thecenterfordiscovery.org/

Money raised this year will go towards the much-needed purchase of sunshades for the amazing Discovery Dreams Play Park you all helped to build a few years ago. It’s incredible! The play park receives direct sunlight and as you might imagine, gets very hot during the summer months. These sunshades, and picnic tables that will be beneath them, will provide great relief to all the residents and students who get so much joy there. There’s nothing worse, especially for The Center’s residents, than a bad sunburn! Selfishly, the sunshades will greatly benefit Will (and all others who suffer from epilepsy) as excessive heat can trigger seizures.

Our goal this year is $110,000.

For more information about Will and his journey, please see his FB and IG pages (IG-wschupler & FB -Will Schupler). Thank you once again for your on-going love and support – we greatly appreciate those of you who have been with us since his first seizure and those that have recently joined the FOW support group. We are grateful and humbled by the outpouring of support throughout the years. You inspire and motivate us to continue to fight for our son and his well-being. It’s a 24/7, lifelong battle – one which we will we never stop fighting!

Our walk-a-thon will take place at Cold Spring Harbor High School on Long Island from noon, Saturday November 23rd to noon on Sunday, November 24. We walk for 24 hours to help people better understand the round-the-clock and unending challenges people with special needs (and their caregivers) endure. Donations can be made here https://gofund.me/1301670f or checks made out to Friends of Will can be sent to Schupler Family, 174 Mary Smith Hill Road, Lew Beach, NY 12758.

Finally, please let us know if / how we can repay your generosity and selflessness. It would be our pleasure.

May God bless you and your family. Thank you again.