Be a host for the Fresh Air fund

Imagine a child living in the toughest neighborhoods of New York City. How can he have a chance to experience the beauty of nature, to go hiking, to get some Fresh Air?

Now he can, with THE FRESH AIR FUND!

The Fresh Air fund, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Nearly 10,000 New York City children enjoy free Fresh Air Fund programs annually. In 2008, close to 5,000 children visited volunteer host families in suburbs and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada. 3,000 children also attended five Fresh Air camps on a 2,300-acre site in Fishkill, New York. The Fund’s year-round camping program serves an additional 2,000 young people each year.

In 1877, the Reverend Willard Parsons, minister of a small rural parish in Sherman, Pennsylvania, asked members of his congregation to provide country vacations as volunteer host families for children from New York City tenements. This was the beginning of The Fresh Air Fund tradition. By 1884, Reverend Parsons was writing about The Fund for New York’s Herald Tribune, and the number of children served grew. Now The Fresh Air Fund serves over 10,000 each year.

I am very impressed with the mission of The Fresh Air Fund. A summer away from the crowded tenements and spent  enjoying wholesome activities can make all the difference in a child’s life.

Right now, volunteers are needed to host a child. Would you consider opening up your home this summer? There is no such thing as a “typical” host family.  If you have room in your home – and your heart – to host a child, you could be one.

No matter where you live, find out more how you can give an inner-city child an experience he’ll never forget. Visit The Fresh Air Fund website.

(This is a public service announcement.)