Welcome to Boyds Mills!

We began the process by asking: What makes our organization, us? 

The answer was clear: our mission, our people, and our place.

Boyds Mills is where Highlights for Children began more than 80 years ago, anchored in the belief that “children are the world’s most important people.” 

It’s where generations of writers and illustrators who share that belief have brought forth stories that inspire.

It’s our retreat center, where the magic of creating for kids is felt as soon as you turn onto the gravel driveway. 

When we searched for a name that captured the magic of our mission, our community, and our roots, we kept returning to Boyds Mills. Nothing else said it better.  The name honors our past while embracing our future, and gives us room to grow.

Everything except the name. Our mission, our values (excellence, creativity, integrity, diversity), and our commitment to storytellers are still the heart of who we are.  Our work will continue through: 

• Craft workshops and retreats (online and in-person) the help writers and illustrators create stories for kids
• Custom and personal retreats that nurture creativity and collaboration
• Scholarships and fellowships that increase access to our programming

This clarity strengthens rather than shifts our focus on supporting storytellers across their creative journeys.

We know that the name “Highlights Foundation” holds deep meaning for many. It represents years of friendships formed, skills grown, books written, and confidence built.  It’s no surprise that reactions have been mostly postitive, but vary.  And that’s ok!  

Some say “Terrific, we’re ready to help however we can.”  Some feel nostalgic or uncertain (especially at first), but understand our reasons.

We expect slip-ups and stumbles as everyone adjusts, especially early on. But we sincerely hope that the shared love we have for Boyds Mills will transcend, and help us move forward into a new chapter with purpose and excitement.

Yes!  Only our name is changing; any donations you’ve made (or make in the future) will still go to our organization.  Any desingations you’ve made to benefit certain scholarships, initiatives, etc. remain the same as well.

Only our name is changing.  Your attendees and guests will see our new name on our campus and in our online tools (after all of our updates are complete), but everything else about your custom retreat is the same.  Custom retreat organizers recieved email communication in advance; if you did not get that email, please reach out to us for more detail.

One of the most gut-wrenching questions we’ve gotten many times so far is, “What about my book dedication??  I mentioned the Highlights Foundation!!”

We understand!  We wish we could magically change every mention of the Highlights Foundation to Boyds Mills, too.  (Trust us, we’ve tried…)

We are doing our best from a communications standpoint to make sure everyone can understand/easily find that what was formerly the Highlights Foundation is now Boyds Mills.  Your book dedication means all the same to us, and your story means all the same to the children who experience it.

(And that’s truly the most important thing!)

Thank you for letting us be a part of your continued journey.

P.S. If your book’s not published yet, feel free to call us Boyds Mills!

Probably not!  We’re a small team, and updating all of our systems is an arduous process.  We’re working as diligently as possible to make the transition smooth and keep everyone updated, but updates will take some time.

Your logins to our online platforms (like the Canvas online classroom) remain the same, though the URLs through which you access them are changing.  We are working to put redirects in place wherever possible so that it’s seamless for you.  If you run into something that’s broken, or that you can’t access, please contact us and we’ll do our best to help.

You may also see “Highlights Foundation” name and logo in our various systems as we get them updated.  As we get further along in the process, we’ll update this page with any outstanding items and let you know who you can contact if you still find something that needs to be updated that we might have missed.  We appreciate your care!