It wasn’t until after a Center Grove High School student died that his family knew the impact he had on those around him, and they have spent two decades keeping his memory alive by helping others.
Brian Freeman died in a car accident on July 9, 1999. A year and a half after he died, his family and friends created the Brian Freeman Memorial Foundation, which helps people in Johnson County, central Indiana and places as far as Africa and Haiti, who are in desperate need of financial services.
Kelli Freeman Sponsel, his sister, remembers him as a unique 16 year old boy who would go out of his way to make people feel included, she said.
“He sat with the lonely kid at lunchtime. He took a girl who didn’t have friends to prom. He was very outgoing, charismatic, funny, social. He had a lot of friends he went out of his way to include. I knew that, but didn’t know the extent of it until he died. So many people were sharing their stories with us,” Sponsel said.
The family knew they had to do something to carry on Freeman’s legacy, she said.
In the two decades that have elapsed since his death, the non-profit foundation has raised more than $125,000 through its annual charity golf tournament at Dyes Walk Country Club in Greenwood. This year, 137 golfers attended, and the foundation raised about $12,000.
Golfers showed up in droves, some from as far away as Alabama, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
“We find that people who didn’t know Brian, when they hear about his story are touched,” Sponsel said.
“The bulk of golfers didn’t even know Brian, but they hear the story when they meet us. They hear about the lives that are impacted through the foundation, that are touched, and they give very generously to help support it.”
Over the years, the foundation has supported missionaries in Africa and paid for the construction of wells in Haiti, allowing the country’s residents to have access to fresh drinking water.
Locally, the foundation paid for a handicap-accessible shower for a man who was paralyzed, and helped the family of a girl with terminal brain cancer pay off their car payment earlier this year. Mt. Pleasant Christian Church, which the foundation works closely with on some of its financial need projects, helped pay some of the family’s medical bills, Sponsel said.
When a firefighter lost a leg in a motorcycle accident, the foundation helped him purchase a prosthetic leg.
The foundation assisted Greenwood residents Joan and Don Garner, neither of whom could drive due to medical conditions, by providing a pair of $500 Uber gift cards. With the cards, the elderly couple was able to go to church, restaurants and visit the rest of their family, said Joy Garner, their daughter-in-law.
“It was very unexpected. It brought tears of appreciation to Don and Joan. Both of them were very grateful for receiving them," Garner said.
The foundation has a board of trustees. When a need arises in the community, the board of six family members and friends decide how to allocate the available funds. Every single dollar goes to helping others, Sponsel said.
While the good deeds vary greatly, the consistency lies in Christmastime.
In the days leading up to Christmas each year, the foundation buys toys for at least one family of children who go to Center Grove and Perry Township schools. While the children are in school, members of the foundation deliver those gifts to the families, who can surprise them on Christmas, Sponsel said.
“We get word from (families) of the children’s desires. We get their clothing sizes, shoe sizes, wrap presents,” Sponsel said.
“We try and tell them about Brian, and a lot of times people are in sad situations themselves.”
Anyone can make a donation to the foundation at any time, helping to keep Brian Freeman’s legacy alive.
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What;20th anniversary memorial service for Brian Freeman
When;7 p.m. Sunday
Where;northwest corner of Greenwood Cemetery
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To donate, email the Brian Freeman Memorial Foundation’s treasurer, TJ Sponsel, at [email protected] to make a tax-deductible donation.
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