Summer 2021 was filled with joys and challenges as the American Youth Foundation found new ways to welcome campers back to Miniwanca and Merrowvista in the midst of a pandemic....

Kim Novotny knows meals at Merrowvista are important community experiences. As Food Program Manager, she strives to make those meals healthy, delicious, and memorable. Novotny first joined the Merrowvista seasonal...

Though the AYF wasn’t able to welcome campers this summer, Miniwanca and Merrowvista were still abuzz this year with the whirring of power tools and landscaping equipment. The facilities teams...

After careful assessment, the American Youth Foundation Board and staff feel we can offer safe, mission-supporting programs at Miniwanca and Merrowvista in summer 2021. It is clear that COVID-19 is...

2020 has been a challenging year for all nonprofit organizations as reduced revenues put a strain on human resources. This month, Zebra Crossings and the American Youth Foundation advanced their...

This Thanksgiving will be unlike any in recent memory. Instead of gathering, we’re asked to stay home for the collective good. Instead of packing the car or boarding our flights,...

These last six months, our AYF family has gone through many adjustments as the world and our programs changed course. We all continue to live in a time of uncertainty...

We know you miss camp as much as we do. That’s why we’re bringing camp into your homes via Zoom each month with Evening Reflections! Evening Reflections takes place the...

The American Youth Foundation is always eager to hear about our program participants and alumni making positive change in their communities. Do you know a camper or alum who is...

Dear AYF Community, Author Anne Lamott says there are essentially three prayers that get us through tough times: Help, Thanks, and Wow. This summer has been full of such moments...

AYF campers across the country have spent the last two weeks building forts, logging miles on their virtual Four Trails treks, and teaching their families the sudsy fun of Arlos and Dishland.    Invincible Summer, the AYF’s free online summer programming, has united the Merrowvista and Miniwanca campers under one...

For almost 100 years, the American Youth Foundation has built and relied upon a community of life-giving partners to ensure the growth and success of our year-round programs at both...

The American Youth Foundation’s longstanding partner, Kids4Peace Boston, is offering a free online training for preteens and teenagers who want to learn more about anti-racism work and how they can enact these practices in their lives. This...

Coordinator Kal Bowers is back with another chapter of their of their original story, Wash Your Hands, Send Your Letters. This week, he checks in with the Beavers and Porcupines...

Coordinators Kal Bowers and Caroline Zerilli are back with another chapter of their original story, Wash Your Hands, Send Your Letters. This week, Kal checks in on the Rock Trolls...

The American Youth Foundation stands in solidarity with communities of color who continue to bear the weight of longtime, systemic injustice and who have suffered disproportionately through the COVID-19 crisis....

by Catherine Klene Summer 2020 will undoubtedly be different than years past, but president Anna Kay Vorsteg shared that the AYF community has already exceeded her expectations.  “This pandemic has issued a very...

Coordinators Kal Bowers and Caroline Zerilli are back with another chapter of their original story, Wash Your Hands, Send Your Letters. This week, Kal visits the whales of Dan Hole...