Teen's 100-Mile Wheelchair Trek for a Good Cause

On June 20, 14-year-old Gene Fletcher arrived at camp, just as he has every summer for the past six years.

But this year there was one important difference: Gene made the 103-mile journey across Michigan's Upper Peninsula by wheelchair.

The young man—who has cerebral palsy and scoliosis—decided to make the trek from Rapid River to Big Bay in order to raise money for Bay Cliff Health Camp, a therapy and wellness center for children and adults with physical disabilities.

Gene travelled between 25 and 30 miles per day, stopping every five miles to give the wheelchair's motors a rest.

Naomi Fletcher, Gene's mom, explained that in addition to raising money for the camp, one of her son's inspirations for the trek was to show that children with disabilities are capable of achieving great things.

"Gene wanted to prove that he was equal to his peers—he just had to do things differently," she said.

"Bay Cliff never tells the children the things they can't do—they encourage and strengthen those things the children can do," she added. Gene's four-day trek raised more than $20,000 for the camp.