Miracle in the Woods nonprofit raises funds for people with disabilities

LEESBURG – The Miracle in the Woods Foundation believes a person’s disability shouldn’t stop them from being able to enjoy the outdoors.

So for the last 2 1/2 years, the nonprofit has worked to make outdoor activities, like hunting and horseback riding, accessible for its guests who otherwise wouldn’t be able to participate. Now the southwest Georgia community has the opportunity to help them raise funds for their mission at an outdoor event with live music, food trucks, games and raffle prizes on Sept. 21.

The event’s goal is to raise $40,000 for a handicap-accessible ATV that will allow folks who can’t operate the vehicle on their own to ride along in a sidecar and get the same experience. The event will feature local musicians like Riley Anderson and Evan Barber, as well as Faith Jackson traveling with her band from Nashville, Tenn. Jamie Kiep, the nonprofit’s co-founder, said last year’s event, the first ever, raised $20,000.

However, Kiep said, money isn’t the ultimate goal. He said he just wants to increase the community’s awareness of the services the nonprofit offers. The outdoors have always been important to Kiep and his wife. Their passion, combined with their love for their son, who was diagnosed with autism and Williams Syndrome, a developmental disorder, pushed them to create Miracle in the Woods.

Kiep and his wife are business owners in the area, and he said it was never in their plan to start a business but God called him to it.

“I was pretty much raised in a tree in the outdoors, and my wife was raised with horses, and we have a son with special needs, and we thought we’d combine something with all three of those things,” he said.

Kiep said his son participates in the Lee County Challenger League, an adaptive baseball program for kids with physical and developmental challenges.

“We already kind of knew some folks that have special abilities, and I reached out to them and their parents and said, ‘Hey, what if we took you guys on a hunt?’ and it was just a resounding, ‘Yes!’” he said.

Kiep said he knew of other local organizations that do hunts for people and veterans with disabilities once or twice a year, but he wanted to do more.

“Our goal is … to do it all year round – make it a full-time venture to simply serve over and over again,” he said.

There’s multiple activities guests can participate in that are adapted to suit their disability.

During one excursion, the participant might use a modified hunting blind, which is a shelter or concealment device that allows a hunter to hide and wait for game to come into view. Miracle in the Woods’ hunting blind is soundproofed.

“There are some people with special abilities where they just make noises, and they can’t control it,” Kiep said.

Inside the blind, is a double layer of latex paint and carpet to dampen noise and allow for a quiet hunt. The nonprofit partnered with a Texas company that donated the accessible hunting blind.

Kiep said between these hunts and “fishing rodeos,” the nonprofit’s served more than 200 people in two years.

“We’re already making a tremendous impact, and it’s already being noticed here, but also across the country,” he said. “We’ve got applications for people that want to come out with us from Arkansas or Missouri. The fact that they’re reaching out to us means there’s nothing like what we’re trying to do available for them where they are.”

Kiep said it’s important for people with disabilities to be able to spend time outdoors and in God’s presence.

“We try to tell people it’s not all about going out to the woods and harvesting an animal,” he said. “There’s just so much to appreciate being in the outdoors that kind of gives you a perspective on life that it’s not all about getting up and going to work every day. But also, taking the time to take a breath, think about what we have, how fortunate we are, and just marvel at that.”

Kiep said the foundation is made up of business owners and caring community members who come together about once a month to see what they can do to make a difference. While it doesn’t currently have a brick-and-mortar site, these community members offer up land for the nonprofit’s use.

He said the ultimate goal is to have an all-inclusive, accessible lodge on the foundation’s own property. He said he hopes to host a different individual or veteran with a disability each week of the year, or 52 guests per year.

Kiep said the nonprofit plans to eventually host fall whitetail deer hunts, spring turkey hunts and summer water activities like fishing or equine therapy riding.

“That’s down the road because that obviously takes a lot of money,” he said. “In the meantime, we’re going to do what we can with what we’ve got.”

The Sept. 21 fundraising event takes place at the ‘Burg Bash Venue at 288 Smithville Road in Leesburg and begins at noon. Music starts at 4 p.m.

The Miracle in the Woods event is open to anyone, and tickets are $10. Local businesses or individuals who wish to sponsor or participate as a vendor at the event can contact Kiep at (229) 376-4529.

Kiep said attendees should be prepared to have a good time with music and fellowship.

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