SeriousFun Children’s Network honored Abercrombie & Fitch Co. at an Oct. 16 New York benefit, highlighting more than $20.5 million in support for free camps serving children with serious illnesses.
The retailer received the Trailblazer Award at the “Camp Changes Everything” dinner at The Glasshouse. SeriousFun said the figure covers charitable support over a decade of partnership, including funding for mental health programs, camp staff and training. It is a partnership total, rather than an amount raised at the dinner.
Abercrombie dates its five-year, $15 million commitment to SeriousFun to 2016. In a 2026 partnership update, the network said an Abercrombie-backed mental health and wellness grant program was allocating $200,000 annually. The program was in its fourth year, with seven camps slated to receive additional mental health support during 2026.
SeriousFun says its 30 camps and programs serve children with serious illnesses and their families at no charge. The network describes the programs as medically supported and says they depend on private funding. Families receive the services free of charge, while donors provide the money that sustains them.
The dinner also recognized James H. “Jimmy” Canton with the Camp Champion Award and Georgia Wall Gogel and Donald Gogel with the Founder’s Award. SeriousFun said John Oliver, B.J. Novak and campers took part. Norah Jones played three songs at the piano to close the event.
The network traces its beginnings to 1988, when Paul Newman opened The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Ashford, Connecticut. SeriousFun identifies it as its first camp. SeriousFun ambassador and event co-chair Clea Newman said, “My dad believed every child deserved the joy of childhood.”
