About Us

More than 2,000 adults in the Birmingham area live with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, and catastrophic injuries.

Their families carry the enormous demands of providing care. We’re here to help.

Our Mission

For God’s glory, the mission of The Hedrick Foundation is to support the multi-faceted needs of individuals who have significant physical disabilities but normal cognitive ability by promoting their independence in a thriving residential community.

Our Method

The Hedrick Foundation has created The Hedrick House ministry charged with creating an affordable independent living facility in the greater Birmingham area that will foster independence through community while maximizing quality of life issues to enable residents to thrive while living life at their full potential.

Our Story

Meet Ben Hedrick, Founder

Thank you for your interest in my story and the history of The Hedrick Foundation.

I’ve had cerebral palsy (CP) since I was born at 26 weeks in the Summer of 1987. However, with the support of my two older brothers, Andrew and Will, along with Mom, Dad, and extended family, I have not allowed this to define or limit me in many ways. It has taken the Lord’s daily provision and a humble determination to accomplish what I have been able to do so far.

I grew up in the Birmingham, Alabama area with close friends and none of them cut me any slack. Although I’ve had quite a few surgeries and physical challenges, we tried hard to make my childhood a normal one. I enjoyed activities like church, T-ball, swimming lessons, therapeutic horseback riding, and countless activities with family and friends. I also supported my brothers in their Scholars Bowl competitions and band concerts.

I attended regular classes in the local public schools, graduating with honors from Pelham High School in 2006. While there, I tried my best to be involved in extracurricular activities such as going to football games and serving as both Junior and Senior Class Vice-President.

I graduated Cum Laude from The University of Mobile, with a degree in Business Administration, in the Fall of 2011. I was honored to have earned the respect of my peers and faculty in both high school and college. Several of them, I count as close friends to this day. During college, I had the dream of helping other college students with disabilities, like myself, so I founded The Hedrick Foundation just before my last semester started.

In early 2014, God changed everything by allowing significant post-surgical complications into the picture as part of His plan for me. These changes forced me to reevaluate my ability to manage the organization. Even though I had to give up my role as the chief executive, I’m still actively involved as an advisor and an ambassador.

While I didn’t know it at the time, in 2016, God was preparing a MUCH bigger team to do something truly special for His kingdom. That year my mom came to me saying she felt that God was calling her to put together a Christian ministry to build apartments for adults with physical disabilities who desperately want to have a place of their own while still having access to appropriate caregivers for help and safety. This is important because many of the day-to-day care requirements for adults with physical disabilities, such as CP, spina bifida, and spinal cord injuries, have progressed beyond what aging parents and family are able to provide.

Through God’s provision we were able to simply change the mission of The Hedrick Foundation, along with some of the leadership, from working with college students with disabilities to addressing the housing needs of this unique demographic here in Birmingham. We’re calling the project The Hedrick House.

Even though life hasn’t turned out quite like I envisioned it, I’m still moving forward in spite of my challenges. When I’m not helping with The Hedrick Foundation, my hobbies include blogging, painting, keeping up with current events, and spending time with others.

If you know someone who might benefit from our mission, or you’re interested in volunteering with us, please feel free to contact us.

Warm regards,

Ben Hedrick, Founder

The Hedrick Foundation

A Family Perspective

By Sarah Anne Hedrick

Hi! I am Sarah Anne Hedrick – wife of Jim; mother of Andrew, Will, and Ben; and grandmother of four. I hope that our family’s perspective helps you see the pressing need for the work being done by The Hedrick Foundation.

Disability does not exist in a vacuum. It affects the individual with the disability, but it also greatly affects that person’s family.

The Hedrick House is in many ways as important for the well-being of the family as it is for the individual with the disability. There is not a single area of our family’s life that has not been affected by Ben’s need for physical assistance due to his spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. The toll of caring for Ben, while gladly paid, is exhausting physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and even sometimes spiritually. After 34 years of bathing, dressing, helping with toileting needs, transferring to and from his wheelchair, and providing transportation for Ben, I am wearing out. I am feeling the paradoxical isolation created by caring for another person who is dependent on you for their daily basic needs.

Time by myself or alone with my husband is exceedingly rare and comes mostly at the generosity of extended family and friends who step into our roles as daily caregivers. Additionally, as a family, we need the rest and peace of mind of knowing that there is an appropriate place for Ben to live now that his father and I are rapidly approaching the phase of life when we can no longer physically do what is required for his care. We need to know that Ben will not just be living somewhere safe, like a nursing home, but that he will be able to experience the dignity and respect that comes with living in his own home.

Even as I write this, there is a tension between wanting to share the realities of life with a son with a disability, so that the need for The Hedrick House is understood, and not wanting to revisit all that is involved in that life for our family. I have always thought that one must “take lemons and make lemonade”, or as Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians, “If there is anything good. . . think on these things.” There is nothing for me to gain from dwelling on our life’s sometimes-overwhelming difficulties. However, real understanding of all that is involved in sharing life with our son – and the very real need for The Hedrick House – requires opening the door to our life.

Our Journey

Our disability journey began in 1987, when our twin sons, Ben and Cameron, were born 14 weeks early. Cameron lived 11 days and is buried in a peaceful little cemetery in western Pennsylvania. Ben has struggled with many challenges because of his prematurity and the resulting cerebral palsy. Jim and I have experienced both trials and blessings as we reared three sons after moving back home to a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama.

Through the years, we have made a lot of metaphorical lemonade. We abandoned our dream to travel internationally for Jim’s work, but we gained a closer relationship with our families. Finances have been tight from time to time because we decided that I would need to be a “stay-at-home mom”, but God has always provided, and Jim and I have learned to be content on one income. Over the years, date nights have taken the place of weekends away. Despite these challenges, Jim and I recently celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. Ben’s older brothers, Andrew and Will, often had to spend afternoons at Ben’s physical therapy appointments, but kind-hearted therapists shared the scraps of brace-making material that the boys then fashioned into GI Joe accoutrements.

While Ben was in college, I lived much of the year in the second-floor hospitality room in Ben’s dorm at the University of Mobile while Jim stayed home alone to continue providing for our family. Through sacrifices like these, Ben was able to complete his degree, with honors, in four and a half years. Quite unexpectedly, one month before Will’s wedding, major surgery had to be scheduled for Ben. I had to set aside many of the plans that I was joyfully anticipating as the mother of the groom, and the whole extended family came together to host a fantastic rehearsal dinner.

Our grandchildren started off scared of their Uncle Ben and his equipment, but quickly realized that he is a really fun guy who keeps them stocked with bubbles and lets them watch puppy videos on his phone. We may look like the Beverly Hillbillies after we have packed all the necessary equipment to travel with Ben in our adapted minivan, but we know that we are always welcome at our son’s houses that have been purchased with Ben’s accessibility in mind.

Hopefully, these snippets of our story illustrate that, truly, no area of our life has been untouched by Ben’s disability. He is a highly intelligent, articulate, compassionate man who is also a quadriplegic without the ability to rollover in bed by himself. But the reality is that for Jim and me our days as caregivers are quickly coming to an end as we approach retirement years. . .

What will that do to the extra expenses of caring for Ben?

Who will bathe and dress him when the hired caregivers fail to come?

What will happen to Ben when we simply can no longer care for him?

This last one is really the question that haunts us!

We are not alone in this concern.

I know, deep down, without a shadow of a doubt, that God will provide, because He always has. I am convinced that God will use The Hedrick House as a solution not just for us, but for the many loving, caring families that want a full and joyful life for the Ben’s in their lives. The Hedrick House will provide the environment that will allow Ben the independence to thrive – to go beyond the bounds of living with his parents – while allowing him to access the physical support that is needed.

There is much to be done. Come join us as we continue the journey!

Our Board of Directors

Steve Gathings

Founder and President of OFC Workscapes, Inc.

“My interest in The Hedrick Foundation and its mission is based on my and Marie’s calling to care for a close friend who has cerebral palsy and through that learning about the challenges faced by adults who are physically challenged but cognitively normal. Seeking ways to assist these individuals in achieving the best possible quality of life has been something we, as a couple, feel equipped and gifted to do thanks to our experience as caregivers.”

Kevin Lindsay

RA – Vice President of Barge Design Solutions

“I am serving on the Board because I have come to know and love Ben and his family through Briarwood Presbyterian Church. If through this board service I can help improve Ben’s quality of life in any way or the quality of life of others who face the same daily challenges that Ben does, it would be well worth this investment of my time.”

Marie M. Gathings

Ministry Assistant to the Sr. Pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian Church

“In 2015, I was called by God to care for a friend who had no family to do so. In these years I have seen the importance of the need for independence no matter what disability might hinder someone. Independence in the day-to-day life activities seems to improve our sense of worth.”

Andrew Hedrick

Software Developer Dynetics Inc.

“The opportunity to serve on The Hedrick Foundation Board is an opportunity to be a part of making The Hedrick House a reality. Housing, as envisioned by The Hedrick House, meets a significant need for a population with few existing options. This compares starkly with most of us who take independent adult living for granted.”

Jim Hollon

IT Systems Analyst

“Having been completely paralyzed for several months in 2016 and continuing in rehab, I became interested in encouraging others who have physical challenges.”