History of REACH

	Important events that have influenced REACH today.

History of REACH

REACH Family Institute was founded in May of 1998 to share the message of hope and life changing possibility with families and professionals worldwide.

In 1978, at the young age of 24, Charles successfully led a team of six brain-injured young adults on a 2,050-mile through-hike of the rugged Appalachian Trail, the longest continuously marked footpath in the world.

This was the first and remains the only time in history that a group of young people with neurological problems attempted and completed a feat of this magnitude.

Charles R. Solis, Jr. and Conceição de Sousa Solis began their work together in the mid- 1970s, providing private consultation services for families with brain-injured children.

In 1988, they initiated a pilot project in Caracas, Venezuela. With the help of Ambassador Alberto Vollmer and his wife Sra Christine Vollmer, the mission was to bring the benefit of their expertise to extremely poor families with brain-injured children. From the initial three families, by 1992 there was a 10-year waiting list for appointments. Faced with this dilemma, Charles created a professional training program in Holistic Brain Development.

This course, accredited by and taught under the auspices of the Universidad Nacional de Rehabilitacion, quickly became the most popular post-graduate course for professionals working in rehabilitation.

Doctors, therapists and teachers, trained by the Solis’ brought desperately needed help to thousands of children and their families.

Eventually, Charles trained 205 professionals to work in centers throughout Venezuela. The project was christened Programa Leopoldo in honor of the Vollmer’s son, a severely braininjured child who provided much of the inspiration for this effort.

Committed to meaningful and innovative work with children, young people and adults since 1975, Charles and Conceição have studied under and worked with the world's leading pioneers in the fields of Brain Development, Early Child Development, and Accelerated Learning. Their dedication to children and the family has earned them accolades from leaders in the international community working to promote family and children’s issues.

In the course of their careers, the Solis' have studied and worked with families all over the world, including the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, South Africa, England, Ireland, France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Japan, Australia, and Papua New Guinea.