AIR SUPPLY

THE FRESH AIR FUND TREATS CITY KIDS TO A LIFE IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS

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Sometimes living just enough for the city doesn’t leave much room for fun in the summertime. Enter: The Fresh Air Fund, a 132-year-old foundation that sends inner-city kids to the country to enjoy all the spoils of a good old-fashioned summer. Green grass, swimming, boating, arts and crafts, barbecues and, of course, fresh air—every child deserves to experience the innocence and beauty of a safe, easy, breezy season in the sun.

Here, THE FAMILY GROOVE talks to The Fresh Air Fund’s Sara Wilson about the foundation that gives kids so much more than a vacation in the country—it gives them a chance to make new friends, see new sights, do new activities, learn new things about themselves and just be happy, carefree kids in a safe and nurturing environment.

THE FAMILY GROOVE: The Fresh Air Fund has been around since 1877. What was the inspiration for its creation?
SARA WILSON: In 1877, The Fresh Air Fund, an independent, not-for-profit organization, was created with one simple mission: to allow children living in disadvantaged communities to get away from the hot, noisy city streets and enjoy free summer experiences in the country. The Rev. Willard Parsons, a minister of a small, rural parish in Sherman, Pa., asked members of his congregation to provide country vacations as volunteer host families for New York City’s neediest children. This was the beginning of The Fresh Air Fund.

Fresh Air Fund - Boating TFG: To what do you attribute its longevity?
SW: The simplicity of our program is its strength. Looking back to 1877, we can reflect on how much has changed, and how much has stayed the same. The Fund’s tradition of caring provides children with a much-needed respite from the inner-city streets, which was true in 1877 as well as today. The streets of New York City look different, as well as the homes of host families, but the mission of the Friendly Town and camping programs remain the same.

TFG: How does the program work today?
SW: 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 into Canada. Three thousand children also attended five Fresh Air camps on a 2,300-acre site in Fishkill, N.Y. The Fund’s year-round camping program serves an additional 2,000 young people each year.

TFG: What do kids need to know about the plight of inner-city kids today?
SW: Children who live in the five boroughs of New York City come from loving families and enjoy many wonderful features that the city has to offer. However, many children from low-income communities of the city do not get the opportunity to run around in the grass, feel safe as they walk down the street, or experience the joys of jumping into the ocean or a lake on a hot summer day. The Fresh Air Fund strives to give each of these youngsters the opportunity to experience these important activities, which allow them to be children.

Fresh Air Fund - Swimming TFG: Tell us more about those activities.
SW: Children who stay with families enjoy simple activities in and around the homes of the hosts. These experiences include swimming, playing sports, barbecuing, seeing the stars at night and meeting new friends, among other things! Children who attend Fresh Air camp also engage in many outdoor activities, such as swimming, climbing the ropes course, hiking a wilderness trail, playing baseball and volleyball, and learning about the animals at the model farm! Additionally, children at camp participate in classes such as computers, arts and crafts, and photography.

TFG: How does the program impact the lives of the children it serves?
SW: A Fresh Air experience allows a child to escape the city streets to meet new friends and encounter simple summer pleasures, which so many of us take for granted. At the homes of volunteer host families, children enjoy running through the grass, swimming in a lake for the first time or watching the stars at night, all things they would not get to experience if they did not leave the city.

TFG: How can you host a child?
SW: Fresh Air Fund volunteer host families open their homes to inner-city children for up to two weeks or more in the summertime. To become a host family, you must fill out an application, be interviewed in your home and undergo a criminal background check. There are no financial requirements for hosting a Fresh Air child. Most hosts simply want to share their homes with an inner-city youngster.

Fresh Air Fund - Parachute TFG: In what other ways can you volunteer?
SW: The Fresh Air Fund relies on the generosity of its volunteers in Friendly Town and New York City, who give countless hours of their time, talent and commitment. Each volunteer plays a key role in the success of the Fund’s summer and year-round programs and makes a difference for thousands of children each year. To find out more about volunteering in New York City in the Fund’s office or throughout the city (or out in Friendly Town!), please call 800.367.0003 or visit www.freshair.org. The Fund is also looking for runners to join our Fresh Air Fund-Racers team to participate in the New York City Half-Marathon on Aug. 16, 2009! For more information, please contact Kate at runners@freshair.org or call 800.367.0003 ext. 8890.

TFG: What else can our readers do to help?
SW: The Fresh Air Fund is a not-for-profit agency, depending primarily on support from private contributions. If you would like to help make a difference in the life of a child by making a tax-deductible contribution, please click here or send donations to The Fresh Air Fund, 633 3rd Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10017.

Fresh Air Fund - Soccer TFG: What’s the biggest thing that you want our readers to take away from the reading of this Q&A?
SW: It’s easy to forget that not every child has the opportunity to run around and enjoy the simple pleasures of summer. As you enjoy your summer outside, please remember that you can help make a difference in the life of one of these inner-city children by inviting a boy or a girl into your home for one to two weeks. It does not take much to host—just a little room in your home and in your heart. And who knows? You might be the one who benefits the most in the end.

TFG: Where does The Fresh Air Fund go from here?
SW: The Fresh Air Fund will continue to serve the children of New York City by sending them on free summer experiences with volunteer host families in rural and suburban communities or at one of the Fund’s five camps. We will strive to recruit additional families so that even more children can see a world outside of New York City with new friends and exciting opportunities!

For more information, please visit www.freshair.org.