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....

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...

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...

Eight-year-old Kate Hampson had returned home to River Forest, Illinois after her first summer at Miniwanca in 2013. Almost every day, she watched a group of young adults with developmental...

Since the summer she spent on the sand dunes of Miniwanca in 2013, Taylor Eldridge has become an investigative journalist who has written award-winning work focusing on criminal justice. As...

Willky’s AYF journey began at Merrowvista when was a 9th grader at Codman Academy. In the first days of forming their new school community, Codman students came to Merrowvista as...

Lexie has grown up at Miniwanca Girls Camp and the National Leadership Conference, returning each summer and completing the Odyssey cycling trip from Michigan to New Hampshire. She has been...

Young people of the AYF strive to be at their best. They continue to discover more about themselves and passionately pursue projects that serve their communities. They are enkindled spirits...