Today has been quite a golden day in the Canaan Valley! The sun is out, children are smiling, and camp is really starting to feel like it’s in full swing....

Every day is a celebration at Merrowvista, and the Fourth of July is no exception. The Canaan Valley is quietly dozing off to sleep as I write this in the...

After weeks of training, planning, and anticipation, Opening Day has finally arrived. Over camp hill came 232 campers from as close as down the road and as far away as...

On Sunday, April 30th, old and new friends of the AYF community gathered for dinner to kick off the 16th Annual Donald Danforth Jr. Memorial Dinner Auction & Golf Tournament....

By Carrie Kennedy, MEd A few years ago, I was introduced to Joe Maroon at an art opening. Being from Pittsburgh, I knew he was a neurosurgeon and a team...

We love talking about summer camp all year long! The first signs of spring are starting to show at Merrowvista and Miniwanca, so although it’s probably not quite time to...

As we ring in the new year, many people look for ways to answer some version of the question, ‘how can I be at my (own very) best, (all the...

With the holiday season upon us, the AYF has so much gratitude for all of the ways in which the members of our community make a positive impact in our...

By Kris Light Every campfire has a purpose. It has been an essential part of our story as a species; a thing that once adopted helped define what it meant...

By Anthony Marvullo This past January, Professor Carol Dweck saw her scholarly work get away from her, so she wrote a clarification in the Harvard Business Review. Her now-famous “growth-mindset...

By Will Shelton A few days ago, we stumbled across this article, and I was very eager to read it. We love to have teens as part of our camps...

By Hawa (Codman ’16) Codman’s trip to Merrowvista is like being thrown into a pool of vulnerability and forced to swim out safely and stronger. Since the whole upper school...

In mid-August, the year-round summer camp teams at Merrowvista and Miniwanca each shared in countless hugs, tidied up, and waved as several hundred summer staff drove away with another incredible...

We want to hear from you! If you have experienced an AYF program, directly or indirectly, we invite you to complete this survey in order to inform AYF’s programming and planning....

By Anthony Marvullo Recent conversations on youth development and student success focus on resilience, sometimes called grit. In Paul Tough’s 2012 book How Children Succeed, resilience is defined as the...

By Eva Bednar Last Friday night, a small, old barn in the Ossipee Mountains sat aglow on a hilltop in the Canaan Valley. This barn (or “Bahn” as Merrowvistians affectionately call...

Last weekend I dropped my oldest son, Sam, off for college. It was an emotion filled day – mostly feelings of pride and excitement. Occasionally my heart would contract resulting...

Greetings once again from the shores of Dan Hole Pond! Life at Merrowvista has been an exciting affair as the days fly by in this the final week of camp....