I remember when I was little and I heard about Fresh Air children at Vacation Bible School. I didn’t really understand it. Why would kids leave their family and home for the summer? I’d never been to a big city. I played barefoot outside for most of my summer, exploring the creek, playing on the swingset, and making mushroom “soup” in old dry wall buckets. The idea that some children don’t get to run around outside at night to catch lightning bugs was foreign to me.
Since being a parent I understand a little bit more. It is such a joy to know that my own children can run in a sunny field, throw rocks in the pond, and follow the deer trails through the “woods”. Some big-hearted people open their homes to children from NYC for the summer. The children that I’ve seen come back several years in a row to our Vacation Bible School are hosted through The Fresh Air Fund.
The Fresh Air Fund has asked me to help spread the word about their organization because they are already gearing up for this summer. I have not been compensated for this post. I’m just doing it to help them out because I have seen their program in action in my community.
I’d really love to hear if any of you have had contact with the Fresh Air Fund. Please leave a comment and let me know!
Following are some facts straight from their website. You can check them out for yourself by clicking here or on the picture.
In 2009, The Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Host Family program, called Friendly Town, gave close to 5,000 New York City boys and girls, ages six to 18, free summer experiences in the country and the suburbs. Volunteer host families shared their friendship and homes up to two weeks or more in 13 Northeastern states from Virginia to Maine and Canada.
The Fresh Air Fund relies on donations to provide memorable summers to NYC children.
More than 65% of all Fresh Air children are reinvited to stay with their host family, year after year.
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I’m really behind on my blog reading so … I remember when I was growing up that one of our family friends whose kids were already grown used to have Fresh Air kids every summer. (I thought their kids came from inner city Philly but maybe not.) They did this for years and years, and as far as I know, remain a part of some of the kids’ lives to this day. I think they even had some second generation kids – that’s how long they’ve been a Fresh Air family!
.-= Kara S´s last blog ..Where Did The Plow Go? =-.
from Jendi: That is awesome!