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December 17, 2009

Paul Freeman volunteered at a church camp in Dahlonega, Ga. the summer before his senior year at PC. The religion and Christian education major expected to teach at the camp’s “village” program for mainstream children. But Freeman was in for a surprise.

The camp also had a program for children with special needs called Sparrowwood, and the program needed another male counselor. Laurie Brownlow, also a PC student at the time, chose Freeman for the position.

“Though she did not know me, she felt from our PC connection that I was the right male for the position,” Freeman said. “After a lot of prayer, I felt that God wanted me to move to the Sparrowwood program even though I was scared out of my mind.”

The experience changed Freeman’s life.

“Not long after I started at Sparrowwood, I realized the amazing impact we were having on these campers and their families,” Freeman said.

Making a better program

Freeman studied special education as a minor when he returned to PC that fall. Freeman realized what he studied in class he had learned firsthand at camp. Over the following summers Freeman ran the Sparrowwood program and became “true friends” with the campers and their families.

“It was intriguing to me,” Freeman said, “that my working with individuals with special needs had also had such an impact on my studies and thought there must be a way we can use this to make a better program.”

Freeman, along with his wife, Jessica, whom he met while volunteering at Sparrowwood, worked to develop a long-term plan for a year-round camping program and facility that would offer experiential-based learning. In 2001 the two founded Camp Caglewood, a non-profit organization based out of Flowery Branch, Ga.

“Our camping programs help our campers develop skills needed for independence, social skills, and an appreciation for the outdoors as well as offer many therapeutic activities that range from fine motor skills to overall physical fitness,” Freeman said.

And Camp Caglewood has been a volunteer effort since it was founded eight years ago. Freeman, who has a full-time career in information technology, and all others associated with Camp Caglewood, voluntarily give up their time to take overnight camping trips and day trips with those with developmental disabilities including autism, Down’s Syndrome, cerebral palsy, and pervasive developmental disorders.

“We (founded the camp) because we saw that there was a need for programs that not only exposed people to the outdoors, but also gave parents respite during the weekends,” Freeman said.

Caglewood's camps and trips

Since 2003 Camp Caglewood has offered approximately 16 trips per year—some overnight camping trips, others day trips. Freeman, a novice camper when he began the camp, has taken campers hiking on the Appalachian Trail, whitewater rafting, primitive camping on Cumberland Island, and to state national parks all over the southeast and as far away as West Virginia.

Campers have also taken day trips to Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Falcons games and the Fernbank Museum and Science Center.

A member of the Blue Hose football team while at PC, Freeman was also involved in FCA, ROTC, and was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. He said that the overall PC experience has helped him as founder and director of Camp Caglewood.

“I feel that (religion and Christian education professors) all understand what it is to be Christ-like and how to nurture students to develop their understanding as well as belief system,” Freeman said. “Never did I feel that I was being told how something was, rather I was being led to discover it.

“But this was a theme that ran throughout my classes-- English, history, and even in the accessibility and personal attention given by President Griffith. We live to serve.”

To learn more about Camp Caglewood, visit their website at www.caglewood.org.

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