Founder Fire
February 14, 2024
AYF facilities teams build on legacy
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 …
January 11, 2024
Miniwanca, Merrowvista programs are fun with intention
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 …
December 18, 2023
AYF volunteers serve humbly at Miniwanca, Merrowvista
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, …
August 14, 2023
Remembering Elizabeth “Bartie” Jones
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, …
May 25, 2023
Care Teams connect with campers’ mental, emotional health
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 …
March 21, 2023
First-year AYF campers take brave first steps toward independence
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 …
February 27, 2023
AYF facilities teams focus on solid foundations
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 …
December 9, 2022
President Anna Kay Vorsteg looks back on 2022
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 …
July 27, 2022
Enkindled Spirits: Hannah Puma
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 …
May 17, 2022
Enkindled Spirits: Grace Blinkhoff
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 …
April 22, 2022
Meet AYF board chair DD Danforth-Burlin
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 …
March 22, 2022
Enkindled Spirits: Robert Pike
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 …