Inspired by a groundswell of associate enthusiasm and volunteerism, A&F Co. launched a five-year partnership with SeriousFun Children’s Network in 2016, a global community of camps and programs serving children with serious illnesses. As part of our overall commitment to SeriousFun, we began our Camp Counselor Program, allowing our global associates the opportunity to volunteer and provide the magical experience of camp to SeriousFun campers and their families
To date, we’ve sent over 400 associates to camps around the world, from Colorado to Hokkaido, Japan, and have clocked over 100K volunteer hours. Additionally, since our partnership with Serious Fun began, we’ve donated $16M in cash and $7M in in-kind goods.
After focusing on localized or virtual volunteer opportunities for the last 3 years, we’re excited to bring the full Camp Counselor Program back to support our associates as they travel near and far to SeriousFun Camps. In fact, in order to make this opportunity as accessible as possible for our associates, the program is all expenses paid—including travel, lodging if required, and per diem for travel days. Additionally, associates aren’t required to use any vacation days while they’re gone. Rather, A&F Co. grants volunteer time off for any time spent at camp!
Associates have been encouraged to apply to the 2023 program and previous counselors recently hosted a Q&A session at the Global Home Office to share more about their memorable experiences
Associate Lauren Burns, who participated in the program in 2022, talked about the positive impact of being a camp counselor, stating that, “Camp lets you take a step out of your day-to-day life and recalibrate to realize what really matters. These young kids display unending perseverance and exude so much positivity into the world that it makes you re-evaluate how you approach your own life.”
Associate Alessandra Bongiorno was a camp counselor at Flying Horse Farms (FHF) in 2022 and spoke fondly of how the program helped her grow as a person. “Giving my time and attention to the FHF mission and kids was an experience that led me to become a more thoughtful, empathetic, fun, and overall better version of myself.”
We’re grateful for this one-of-a-kind partnership with SeriousFun and the life-changing experiences it grants to the campers and our associates every year. We’re looking forward to seeing what magic 2023 is going to bring.
Explore the work we’re doing with our other key impact partners.
Keep an eye on @LifeatANF to follow our associates and these adventures and more.
