Our Mission, Vision, and Guiding Principles

FOR 100 YEARS CARSON VALLEY CHILDREN’S AID (CVCA) has served the needs of dependent and at risk children from Philadelphia and surrounding counties. The hundred acre campus once part of Robert N. Carson’s Erdenheim Stock Farm is remarkable for its rolling hills, neo-medieval buildings and design as a fantasy village.According to Isabella Carson this legacy to her husband, Carson College for Orphan Girls, would be modeled on Philadelphia’s Girard College. Albert Kelsey, a well-known Philadelphian and graduate of University of Pennsylvania, was selected as the architect for the first cottage named Mother Goose and seven others. The President of the new orphanage and school was Elsa Ueland, a pioneer in progressive education who led the college for nearly half of a century. The institution was originally endowed by Philadelphia trolley magnate Robert Carson and other private contributors, but today 99% of the funding for the 28 programs that make up CVCA is public. Our 100th year anniversary is a unique opportunity to celebrate the history of the organization as well as expand and diversify support from our friends and new donors.

Carson Valley Children’s Aid is dedicated to delivering services to children, youth and families that ensure their safety, build on their strengths, honor their differences and empower them to achieve their goals for success in life.