Founder Fire

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 …

February 18, 2022

NLC finds closer connection in 2021

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, …

January 25, 2022

Creating Conversation and Change

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 …

December 8, 2021

Rekindling Community in Summer 2021

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: …

November 17, 2021

AYF President Anna Kay Vorsteg reflects on summer 2021

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 …

1 2