LEONARD, Minn. — Sarah Gilder had a surprise for her 16-year-old son Keagen, but she didn’t want to tell him until the last minute.
“When you tell him something, he usually just fixates on it and talks and talks and talks,” Gilder said lightheartedly.
On Friday, Oct. 17, Gilder loaded up the car at their home in Stillwater and handed Keagen a note — congratulating him on going on his first deer hunt.
As expected, Keagen was elated.
“The face that he made when he read that and looked at me, he said, ‘We’re going deer hunting?! I really get to do this?’ And I said, ‘Yep.’ And so he just was ecstatic,” Gilder recounted.
Going deer hunting was a dream of Keagen’s, who has hemiplegic cerebral palsy, but he had never gotten the opportunity.
“He has an aunt that’s a pretty avid hunter,” Gilder said. “I never knew, as his mom, what kind of adaptations or accessibility things were available because I never grew up around hunting.”
So when Gilder was sent a Facebook post about the United Special Sportsman Alliance’s Minnesota Dream Hunt, which takes youth with permanent disabilities or life-threatening illnesses out deer hunting, she knew it’d be perfect for Keagen.
Once they got to organizer Jack Juberian’s house in Leonard, 30 minutes northwest of Bemidji, they were welcomed with open arms. Keagen befriended Juberian’s kids almost as soon as they got there.
“Jack’s family, his kids, they just were amazing,” Gilder said. “They invited Keagen right in to play a game of basketball that they were playing, and introduced themselves. These kids have never met each other, but the way that they were interacting was like they’ve known each other forever.”
Juberian and other volunteers taught Keagen and three other young hunters how to shoot a gun and do target practice before they went out on their first hunt with a volunteer guide on Friday. Keagen didn’t get anything the first day, but he was not disappointed.
They would go out one more time with Juberian on Saturday, when Keagen saw a doe coming down the path. He was the closest he’s ever been to shooting his first deer.
“Jack looked at Keagen and said, ‘I think I’m more excited than you are,’” Gilder said.
Juberian told Keagen where to aim, and an almost perfect shot later, he shot his first doe.
“The immediate gratification that Jack showed Keagen is something that most people only, I feel, give their own children in some aspect,” Gilder said. “And it was so heartwarming.”
For Keagen to live out one of his dreams, like deer hunting, is something he and Gilder will never forget.
“He struggles socially with friends and things like that in school,” Gilder said. “(It’s) sometimes based off of parents, and kids are mean. (They) don’t take the time really to get to know him.
“And so for him to realize that there’s something out there as simple as hunting, as simple as just being out in nature is doable for him … it just opens the door for him to do more things that he’s been told he can’t do.”
5 years of the Minnesota Dream Hunt
The USSA Minnesota Dream Hunt has been going on for five years, and has been primarily organized by Juberian, although he wouldn’t call himself an organizer by any means.
“I wouldn’t call myself the organizer of anything, because organization is probably a long way from my strong suit,” he said with a laugh.
A few years ago, Juberian was casually talking with his buddies when he learned of USSA, which this year is marking 25 years of taking critically ill and disabled youth and disabled veterans out on free outdoor activities, like hunting and fishing.
“Some college friends of mine, they started working with (USSA) on their land in Colorado taking kids hunting,” Juberian said. “They said, ‘Listen, you have the optimal setup for this. You need to be taking some kids hunting.’
“And so, per their advice, I got a hold of Bridget (O’Donoghue), who’s the founder of the organization. And one thing led to the next, and then here we are.”
The Minnesota Dream Hunt started in 2021 and has been going on every year since. This year, they took four kids out deer hunting, including Keagen, Jaydan and Jacob Kungu and Tyler Ash, with all but Ash coming back with deer at the end of the two days.
Since many of the participants have never been deer hunting, Juberian and his volunteer guides teach the kids how to shoot a gun and important safety knowledge, and offer support and guidance once they get into the deer stand.
Everything is paid for, from lodging at a Bemidji hotel to the hunt itself, providing a unique opportunity for the youth to get an experience they don’t often get.
“It gives them something different than, say, going to Disneyland or Universal Studios,” Juberian said. “(These) kids that have been dealt a little different hand than the rest of us. We’re maybe not as boujee or as sophisticated as (others), but it gives them an opportunity to do something different.”Parents like Gilder are thankful for Juberian and USSA for giving their time to make dreams for kids like Keagen possible.
“The whole event was just humbling,” Gilder said. “Humbling to see these people open their house and give up their time that they could spend with their families to show others what hunting and the outdoor life can be like.”
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