Hands In 4 Youth, Inc

Hands in 4 Youth (Hi4Y) is a non-profit organization founded in 1924. Our mission: HI4Y inspires young people from diverse backgrounds to be fully engaged in school and life, so they have opportunity and choice to pursue their dreams. We are a year-round agency supporting social development and learning for under-served young people, most from economically-challenged families and communities, aged 6-17 in the New York and New Jersey region.

We provide a summer camp program at our 230-acre Camp Vacamas site in West Milford, Passaic County, New Jersey, including three sleepaway camp sessions and day camp. Summer programs at Camp Vacamas afford children and teens the opportunity to develop skills related to goal-setting, problem-solving, and decision-making, and utilizes traditional camp activities combined with hands-on, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Math)-based educational activities. In 2019, for the third straight year Hands In 4 Youth received the Hi-Impact Award from our assessment firm Algorhythm, given only to youth development programs proven to have an exceptional impact on the young people they serve.

HI4Y's academic-year programs include our after-school enrichment program with partner public schools, which launched in New York and New Jersey over 30 years ago. The program currently runs in three partner schools in New York City, one elementary and two middle schools, and we partner with agencies in Newark and Jersey City to provide programs that support academic, social and emotional learning for their underserved youth during the school year as well.