An anniversary is a chance to reflect on the past year and consider what’s next. As the American Youth Foundation plans its 2025 centennial events (dates to be announced soon),...

Before sites are flooded with summer campers, the facilities teams at Miniwanca and Merrowvista prioritize larger structural projects that enhance the quality of life for staff and campers each year....

On a clear summer evening, a group of Four Trails campers gather around a fire. They’ve just eaten a meal they prepared after a day of kayaking and have finally...

Every year, the American Youth Foundation puts a call out for volunteers to ready its sites for the summer. The turnout, staff will tell you, is nothing short of inspiring....

Elizabeth Bartholomew Jones, better known as Bartie to the American Youth Foundation community, passed away July 31 at age 98. Bartie was born Aug. 28, 1924 in Pontiac, Michigan. She...

As they prepared for summer 2022, the American Youth Foundation team was determined to provide a strong network of support for campers struggling with emotional health. Director of Community Life,...

For almost 100 years, American Youth Foundation campers have embarked on journeys measured in miles, challenges, and personal growth. Like any journey, camp begins with a single step, and for...

As youth returned to Merrowvista and Miniwanca in 2021 and 2022, the facilities teams focused on how the sites could best serve participants in the future while bringing much needed...

For most of my adult life, I have kept a small paperweight on my desk that reads, “Every wall is a door.”  We all need reminders that, when faced with...

Hannah Puma’s AYF experience began when she was a small child, running around Miniwanca as her mom worked at camp for multiple summers. She couldn’t wait to be a camper...

Upon joining City Year AmeriCorps, each member is presented with a red jacket, which they dedicate to a person, idea, or cause that inspires them to serve. Most people dedicate...

The American Youth Foundation has played a pivotal role in DD Danforth-Burlin’s life. The four-fold way of living has steered her through her youth as a Miniwanca camper and leader,...

by Dana Rieck High school physics teacher Robert Pike works hard to learn his students’ names within the first three days of each semester, so they feel valued and appreciated...

by Dana Rieck National Leadership Conference participants were finally able to gather on the dunes of Miniwanca once again in 2021, albeit in a new, more intimate way. While the...

While the COVID-19 pandemic brought many losses, it also ushered in new methods for creating community using virtual tools instead of live gatherings. One such virtual event took place in...

For the first time in more than a year, a familiar sound could be heard across the dunes of Miniwanca and the valleys of Merrowvista: campers’ voices, laughing and singing...

After a long year of wait and worry, the bells of Miniwanca and Merrowvista finally rang once again this summer. They signaled much more than a return – each intonation...

Daniel Gottshall, 10, was disappointed when he found out the American Youth Foundation would not be able to welcome campers to Miniwanca in 2020. His family has spent many summers...