History of Camp Freedom
My son and I spent the summer volunteering at a pilot program teaching high functioning autistic youth how to sail. After we knew that there was a need to start a program that could help youth like my son. My son was twelve years old when sailing came into his life. He has had difficulties with self-esteem and social skills. My son explained that sailing made him feel “FREE” and “ME”. That was all I needed to hear, and decided to make these programs a reality. During the pilot program we developed an adaptive sailing program for high functioning autistic youth that has been recognized by US Sailing. The program we developed not only teaches high functioning autistic youth how to sail, but also provides social skills development. This is a year round program that will provide family activity and support. We will be taking our youth to different sailing areas to expose them to the community and give them a chance to use and practice their social skills. Every April we hold an Autism Awareness silent auction to help bring awareness to the community but also provide our summer camp program and provide scholarship to some of our youth sailors.

Our Mission Statement:

Freedom Sailing Camp of Florida’s Mission is to provide safe, enriching and affordable sailing for High Functioning individuals within the autistic spectrum disorder. It allows them to explore and develop social skills that will empower them to strengthen their self-esteem and help them become self-sufficient individuals.