The Independent Presbyterian Church (IPC) Children’s Fresh Air Farm is the cradle of SAIL.  The farm provided a traditional overnight summer camp for children from inner-city Birmingham from 1922. In the Summer of 2010, after consulting with families whose children attended the Farm, IPC transformed the program into a 6-week day-camp with school in the morning and camp in the afternoon. The pilot was successful! In addition to the time-tested benefits of the Farm’s camp activities, the children made gains in reading and math.

34 rising third grade students from Birmingham’s North Avondale neighborhood comprised the pilot. The students gained an average of one month in reading and three months in math.

Sensing the power of summer learning to help close the academic achievement gap of vulnerable children, the IPC Foundation began actively promoting this concept, encouraging other programs to follow suit, and recruiting additional funders. The number of programs and funders gradually grew. 

In the Fall of 2012, six funders joined forces to form SAIL and conduct its first grant cycle.

• ♦ The Belk Foundation
• ♦ Daniel Foundation of Alabama
• ♦ Mike and Gillian Goodrich Foundation
• ♦ Independent Presbyterian Church Foundation
• ♦ Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham
• ♦ United Way of Central Alabama 

♦ 2013-2015: Steady growth in the Birmingham area.
♦ 2016-2019: Expansion to the Black Belt, then gradual expansion into the rest of Alabama.

The pandemic emerged as SAIL programs were finalizing plans for the summer. The programs came together as a community to rapidly assess the risks and respond. Half elected to convert from in-person to on-line. New skills in topics such as distance learning and infection-prevention practices were acquired. Enrollment contacted by half: 34 programs enrolled 1,283 students.

Steady addition of new programs around Alabama. Gradual recovery in enrollment, limited by the increase in school-based programs funded by the American Rescue Plan.

♦ In January, 2025, SAIL and the Alabama Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs announced plans to introduce the SAIL model of summer learning to all thirteen Boys and Girls Clubs in Alabama.

♦ The map below depicts SAIL’s 2025 programs: 54 organizations offering programs at 84 sites in 31 counties.