SFN Dad To Dad 447 - Jerry Rakfeldt of Santa Monica, CA Who Is An Entrepreneur, Co-Founder of Adrian's Place & Father Of A Son With CP

Our guest this week is Jerry Rakfeldt of Santa Monica, CA who is an entrepreneur, marketing executive, disability advocate, co-founder of Growing Side By Side and Adrian’s Place and perhaps most importantly, father of two including a son with cerebral palsy.Jerry and his wife Katty have been married for 23 years and are the proud parents of two children: Sofia (19) and Adrian (22) who has cerebral palsy. Together they founded Adrian’s Place, a community activity center in Santa Monica, CA that offers a wide range of programs for youth and young adults with intellectual and physical disabilities. What makes Adrian's Place different is rather than operating as a traditional therapy center, Adrian's Place functions as a community-based activity center where independent providers deliver programs under one roof.It's an uplifting story about family, commitment to community and service all on this episode of the SFN Dad to Dad Podcast. Show LinksPhone – (310) 308-4149Email – [email protected] - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-rakfeldt-994848/Website – https://www.adriansplace.com/Website – https://www.adriansplacefoundation.org/  The Adrians Place website:  https://www.adriansplace.comSpecial thanks to all those who supported the SFN U.S. Tour, a month-long, 50-state, 60+ stop tour that took place from May 21 to June 21, 2026: to strengthen and grow the Special Fathers Network and distribute 1,000+ complimentary copies of our new book: Dads Raising Children With Special Needs & Disabilities: A Guide For 21st Century Dads. Special Fathers Network –SFN is a dad to dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs. Many of the 900+ SFN Mentor Fathers, who are raising kids with special needs, have said: “I wish there was something like this when we first received our child’s diagnosis. I felt so isolated.  There was no one within my family, at work, at church or within my friend group who understood or could relate to what I was going through.”SFN Mentor Fathers share their experiences with younger dads closer to the beginning of their journey raising a child with the same or similar special needs. The SFN Mentor Fathers do NOT offer legal or medical advice, that is what lawyers and doctors do. They simply share their experiences and how they have made the most of challenging situations.Check out the 21CD YouTube Channel with dozens of videos on topics relevant to dads raising children with special needs - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzDFCvQimWNEb158ll6Q4cA/videosPlease support the SFN. Click here to donate: https://21stcenturydads.org/donate/Special Fathers Network: https://21stcenturydads.org/