Overview

Steve Glidden was one of four middle school children from Newton, Massachusetts who perished in a school bus crash on April 27, 2001, while en route to perform in an international children’s music festival. In his memory, Steve’s family and friends created the Steve Glidden Foundation (SGF), an all-volunteer tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charitable foundation.

SGF’s mission is to enable children — specifically those who are refugees, homeless, or exposed to violence in the family or community — to attend summer camp. Since its founding in 2001, SGF has distributed over $1.25 million in summer camp scholarships, enabling hundreds of deserving children to take part in safe and enriching summer camp experiences – the kind that most of the rest of us simply take for granted.

SGF operates with almost no overhead and with great sensitivity to the trauma that the children we serve and their families have experienced. You can read more about what we do and how we operate here.

About Steve

Losing a child, particularly one like Steve whose entire life was joyous and whose future seemed to overflow with potential, is so dreadfully, cosmically unfair. We would, in a flash, trade the enormous generosity shown to us by others, all our worldly goods, even our own lives, to get Steve back. Steve touched so many in his short, sweet twelve years. He was a radiant beam in a very troubled world. Steve’s abundant, unselfish spirit has carried on and seems even to have grown since his tragic death. It seems as though this remarkable boy continues to change the world, even though he is no longer here with us.

Those who would like to learn more about Steve and the promise and legacy of his brief life are welcome to peruse remembrances written by family and friends.