We take our name from a fictional character of the celebrated Richard Adams novel Watership Down. Fiver is the name of a small rabbit who has a vision to create a better future for his community and the courage to carry on after confronting seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
Touched by the novel and inspired by Fiver's strength of character, Fiver Founder and Chairman of the Board Tom Tucker decided to create an organization to benefit children from the underserved communities of New York City.
In 1998, ground broke for the foundation of Camp Fiver in the village of Poolville, NY. Tom's goal then was to provide an environment during two months of every summer where New York City youth from underserved communities could learn while having fun. His simple idea: positive life experiences lead to positive life choices.
Today, this basic notion still fuels the growth of the Fiver Children's Foundation. Now a full blown youth development organization based out of New York City, Fiver organizes year-long programming in addition to hosting children ages 8 to 18 every summer at camp.
Our Approach
10-Year Commitment
Our approach is our commitment. To each participant, beginning at age 8 and ending at age 18, Fiver pledges 10 years of year-round, comprehensive, personalized support.
Fiver's 10 year commitment includes a year-round mentoring and counseling program for all ages; a character building residential summer program (Camp Fiver) for all ages; an urban summer internship and professional development program for teens (Summer in the City); and a social network of partnerships made up of local schools, community based organizations, and youth development organizations.
Character Education as Character Literacy
Of all the traditions and themes perpetuated by Fiver participants, the keystone of the Fiver culture must be the overarching character literacy program entitled Whole Self.
Introduced to all participants upon enrollment with Fiver, Whole Self provides a language to positively understand, describe and articulate current struggles or successes, life-style choices, and future goals. It is the language that helps our kids become literate in who they are and how they wish to relate to the greater world around them
Smart Programming
Fivers progress through four developmental stages during their decade-long tenure:
LEARN (ages 8-12) participants focus on developing self confidence and broadening their perspective with regard to goals and dreams.
TAP (ages 13-14) participants focus on personal and academic preparedness for the journey through high school, the importance of giving back, and lessons learned through team-building initiatives.
LEAD (ages 15-16) participants perform community service, learn about ethical decision-making, develop leadership skills, and focus on college and career preparation.
SERVE (ages 17-18) is aimed at assisting teens with the post-high school transition into college, job training programs, or careers.
Evidence-Based Practice
The entire Fiver team is responsible for the collection of data measuring our program success. Measures of strengths, weaknesses, and goal progression are supported with qualitative and quantitative data.
Data analysis is done principally by Director of evaluaton Erin Kaplan and evaluation team member Chris Chavez who conceieve of Fiver's data tracking and analysis system not in terms of evaluation but in terms of smart programming.
Fiver currently serves an amazing group of 500 children and teens. Approximately 85% of the children and families live in New York City with the majority centralized in the neighborhoods of Fiver’s community partners: Mott Haven, East Harlem, Harlem, Jackson Heights, Jamaica, East Elmhurst, Brownsville, Sunset Park, and East Flatbush.
The remaining participants live in rural Madison County within 30 miles of Fiver’s summer camp in Poolville, New York. Program participants are 41% Hispanic or Latino, 34% African-American, 15% Caucasian, 8% multi-racial, and 2% Asian.
Over 40% live in single parent homes and an additional 8% reside with other relatives or foster parents. All youth recruited into Fiver programs come from families eligible for the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Under these guidelines, a family of four must make less than $38,000 annually.
Staff and Staff Resources
Year Round Staff
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, Executive Director
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, Senior Program Director, Camp Director
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, Senior Director of Development, Evaluation and Support Services
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, Senior Director of Marketing and Development, Benefit Coordinator
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, Program Supervisor
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, Program Supervisor
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, Program Supervisor
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, Program Supervisor
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, Facilities and Grounds Director
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, Upstate Program Supervisor
