Our Origin

Reach Within is a program of the Windward Islands Research and Education Foundation (WINDREF), which promotes health, well-being, and sustainable development through multi-disciplinary research, education, and community programs. Reach Within’s parent organization is the Bartholomew J. Lawson Foundation for Children.

Reach Within was inspired by the life and legacy of a past WINDREF board member, Bartholomew J. Lawson, who was also an Ambassador-at-Large for Grenada. His untimely passing on July 31, 2003, in Grenada, the West Indies, set his young family on a path of healing and resiliency.

Bart’s greatest joy was found in his three children. He honored their individuality and committed to providing them with abundant love and joy. This was driven by his own yearning for meaningful adult connection as a young teen. He found respite in the office of a therapist who encouraged him to leave home at only 14 years of age. Bart often spoke of how that one dear old man unwittingly changed his life's course, propelling him toward self-awareness and self-reliance. Mostly, this man taught Bart that one person’s belief in another can create a sea change in that other’s life.

As a successful NY-based healthcare executive, Bart was instrumental in fostering patient-centered regulation at the city, state, and federal levels. Notably, he created an experimental design for the delivery of pediatric services in inner-city New York, enlisting America's top pediatrician, Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, to train a corps of doctors serving the least accessible children. He had plans to do similar work for Grenada as an international application of his model of care. He believed that the most vulnerable deserved the best.

Reach Within’s philosophical underpinning is based on the sacred concepts of rebirth and regeneration following a loss. It has been created to be sustainable using tools and methods that are easy to access, along with a train-the-trainer approach. Our goal is for Bart’s spirit to live on through the support of the most vulnerable of Grenada’s children by believing in their capacity for change and their birthright of connection, love, and joy.