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Apply  |  Donate

About The Paul Center

Our History & Mission

The Paul Center is dedicated to assisting individuals with disabilities in developing their maximum potential and independence. We strive to provide unique educational, social, and recreational programs to the individuals and their families.

Our History

1968

In the beginning Anna St. Germain had a dream. She wanted to establish a “camp” for young people with special needs. In 1968, she met with Ray Paul to share her dream of a special place for special kids. They gathered friends and neighbors together in hopes of making this dream a reality. Ray Paul provided the land for this “camp” to be built on. The land was prepared, tents were set up, transportation was arranged and the children arrived. The Founders enlisted the help of professionals to develop a program that would be known as “Camp Paul.” “Camp Paul” set the path for the future programs that would later be developed and offered to individuals with special needs.

1984

In 1984, the Camp Paul Summer Education Program was approved by the Department of Education as a Chapter 766 school. Today, this program is titled the Extended School Year Program at The Paul Center.

1988

In 1988, the governing Board initiated a pilot after school program providing respite care and recreational activities to young people with special needs during the school year months.

1995

In 1995, the Board of Directors was encouraged to change the name from Camp Paul for Exceptional Children, Inc. to The Paul Center for Learning and Recreation, Inc.  We believe that the new name more accurately reflects the range of programs being offered at The Paul Center. 

2020

The spirit of the founding purpose remains a cornerstone of the mission of our organization. Our Mission is made possible by the hundreds of people who have generously donated to our cause. 

Our Mission

The Paul Center is dedicated to assisting individuals with disabilities in developing their maximum potential and independence. We strive to provide individuals and their families, support services to meet their needs, creating an environment where individuals can be meaningfully engaged in a variety of learning and recreational activities while reinforcing important life skills. The Board of Directors and staff of The Paul Center believe that through consistent quality programming we can continue to provide an optimal educational and recreational experience needed by our students.

To achieve our mission we affirm:

We will work so that if our children were in need of services we would want them to come to The Paul Center.

Learning is a lifelong process all individuals are capable of with empowerment to participate.

The Paul Center is the students’ home away from home where they are supported and encouraged to learn and grow.

All members of society are deserving of equal opportunities.

We stress with our staff the importance of establishing and maintaining a “spirit of extended family” with our students.  This spirit transcends all aspects of our programs and continues to be a significant factor in our success with our students.  We encourage any ideas they may have to improve our programs within the parameters of our mission statement.

Donate

Your contributions mean the world to us here at The Paul Center. With your donations, we improve facilities, services and access for all our students!

Apply

Ready to join our extended family? We have many programs for young people. Click here to learn more and fill out an application!

Get Involved

Do you have a passion for supporting young people and having fun? We have multiple volunteer & employment opportunities available!