Discover your own best self

The American Youth Foundation is deeply saddened at the passing of one of its greatest champions, Dr. William “Bill” Danforth. He wanted to better the world, and the AYF is the beneficiary of his tireless work. He will be sorely missed. His light will linger long.
Donate to the Bill Danforth Memorial Fund

We’re a nonprofit youth development organization that engages thousands of youth year-round through community and school programs, summer camps, and leadership conferences at our beautiful properties, Merrowvista in New Hampshire and Miniwanca in Michigan.
Since 1925, we have welcomed young people from around the world to our campuses to discover the richness of our outdoor environments, the fun of interacting with a positive community, and the challenge of self-discovery.

Our communities, our nation, and our world are being changed daily by the coronavirus pandemic, and so too are the program possibilities for the AYF in 2020. We have come to the difficult realization that we will not be able to gather for residential programs at Miniwanca or Merrowvista this summer.

This cancellation includes summer camp at Miniwanca and Merrowvista, the National Leadership Conference, Summer Seminars for Women, and Alumni and Family Camp. Along with national leaders in outdoor programming, we are announcing that we need to make a major change of course this season. In this time of physical distance, we will offer only free online programming to connect our community until we can safely gather in person.

Read the complete message from AYF President Anna Kay Vorsteg