Impact Report | North Georgia Camp & Retreat Ministries

GLISSON VILLAGE CAMP
A Gift to Keep
Going and Growing
our biggest capital
campaign ever followed
by the biggest single
gift ever
Where Campers
Aren’t Defined
By Disability
SPARROWWOOD
CAMPERS
2013 2014 2015
157 155 184
Over the past four decades, the Sparrowwood program has had a
profound impact on its participants, their families, and our summer
staff. Specialized training is given to counselors, each of whom offer
custom care to two campers, focusing on ability rather than disability.
Sparrowwood’s impact doesn’t stop there, though. Its embodiment of
unconditional love spreads through all of Glisson and beyond.
Glisson as a whole wouldn’t be what it is without the powerful presence
of these campers – their smiles, songs, dance moves, chapel skits,
celebrations, sporting prowess, hugs and high fives. Sparrowwood
campers visit Outpost for a campout each week and participate daily in
Village camp living groups, allowing all involved to discover that we are
more alike than different.
As wonderful as Sparrowwood is, we’re still hard at work to keep
making it better than ever. Over the past few years, our focus has
shifted from integration – Sparrowwood campers joining a Village living
group for an activity or two per week – to inclusion – Sparrowwood
campers and their counselor being part of a Village living group for
as many events as possible throughout the week. This shift has only
increased the effect these beautiful children, youth, and adults have
on everything about Glisson. And in 2015, the new Lanford Lodge and
cabins in Village allowed Sparrowwood campers and staff to stay in Ivie
Lodge. Campers (and staff) appreciated the comfier living conditions,
and the increased number of beds made room for more Sparrowwood
campers than ever before.
blob zipline wet willie
Michael’s
Sparrowwood Story
“It honestly left me speechless and very excited.”
That’s what Ellen Holland expressed when asked
about the impact Sparrowwood had on her son,
Michael, in 2015.
The Biggest Program Activity Addition
Since The Alpine Tower
On the heels of completing our biggest capital campaign ever, Glisson
received its largest single gift ever: one million dollars! This unexpected
gift was given specifically toward projects of our Master Plan that were
not included in the Serving Generations campaign...and in the hope
that we’d start building right away – which we did!
A key improvement this incredible gift allowed was developing the
Lake Hale waterfront – our biggest-impact program activity addition
since the Alpine Tower in 1998.
One of our basic program goals in Village is to get campers wet
and off the ground at least once a day – wet because it’s summer in
Georgia and off the ground because that unusual circumstance offers
a chance to build trust and self-confidence. The pool and creek can
only handle so many campers at a time, and the lake had largely been
limited to kayaking for decades. Thus, in 2015, we unleashed the three
most-awesome ways ever to enter Lake Hale: zip line, Blob, and Wet
Willie water slides. Beyond being an absolute blast, these three new
program activities get campers wet and off the ground at the same
time. Campers from all three Glisson programs gave rave reviews for
the chance to zip, slide, bounce, and fly their way into the once-sleepy
and now-bustling Lake Hale.
While the new waterfront may be the most immediately noticeable
improvement from this generous gift, it has also created more lodging
space and meeting space and, in the near future, activity space.
Room For Many More
Two new Village cabins
and renovation of a third
– combined with the new
Lanford Lodge that was
a key part of the Serving
Generations campaign
– offered more room for
more campers in 2015.
A New “Old” Dining Hall
After 64 years as a
food service facility, the
heavily-loved dining
area was renovated into
a large group meeting
space and the kitchen
area is being converted
into a meeting space and
bathrooms.
Bigger, Better Ball Field
The fourth piece of the
$1M gift projects will
be creating a full-size
recreation field near the
old Rustic campground
to accommodate a wider
variety of activities for
larger groups.
Back for his fourth summer, Michael spent the week at a brand-new
program offering: Sparrowwood @ Outpost. It’s safe to say the concept
was a raging success with at least one veteran camper. At the end of
the week, Michael’s mother exclaimed: “He wants to do Outpost again!
Michael has not made a decision in 19 years. It’s always ‘Whatever, I
don’t care.’ He immediately said he wanted to do Outpost again.”
When asked to elaborate on what that meant for the parent of a child
with special needs, Ellen shared: “It made us so happy to see that he
found something that he connected so much with that it made that
much of an impact. He still makes very few to no decisions, but that
was a moment he was sure and confident. Glimpses like this, milestones
like this, really are priceless for a parent of a special needs child. It’s like
watching a child take their first steps.”
Glisson Sparrowwood 2016 Schedule
* - horses
** - @ Outpost (horses)
Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9
Age May 29-June 3 June 5-10 June 12-17 June 19-24 June 26-July 1 July 3-8 July 10-15 July 17-22 July 24-29
9-13 yrs • •
14-17 yrs • • • • •*
Ellen adopted Michael and raised him as a single parent for many years
before meeting her husband, Danny, who embraced Michael as his own.
When asked what impact Sparrowwood has had on their family, Ellen
shared similar sentiments we’ve heard for decades:
“Sparrowwood gives us a chance to send Michael to a place where we
know he will be safe and cared for. In addition it gives him the same
camp experience I was lucky enough to have growing up….It gives
Danny and I time as a couple. We also get to see Michael grow through
his experiences.”
18-40 yrs • • •** • • •* • •
40+ yrs • • • •
North Georgia Camp & Retreat Ministries 5 IMPACT REPORT · 2015 IMPACT REPORT · 2015 6
North Georgia Camp & Retreat Ministries