It was founded by Stuart Scheftel,[1] with backing by Marshall Field III,[2] after Scheftel left The New York Times in 1935,[1] Young America (YA) was sold to students in elementary and junior high schools.
[4] Scheftel became the film company's president, and Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr. became the chairman of its board.
[5] Plans called for production and distribution of documentary and short-subject films and distribution of related equipment, including projectors and screens (the 16-millimeter projectors to be made by National Mineral Company).
[4] A month later, Scheftel announced that YAF would also provide educational 35-millimeter filmstrips and slides with accompanying lesson plans and manuals for teachers, working through existing school-supply distributors in all 48 states,[6] Alaska, and Hawaii.
They encouraged schoolchildren to donate pennies, nickels, and dimes to the war effort.