Fresh Air Fund Needs Your Help!!!

The holidays are right around the corner and The Fresh Air Fund needs your help!

One of my favourite associations is the Fresh Air Fund. This non-profit in association in NY gives children from low income families a chance to participate in activities that they may not have the chance do in their daily lives. To learn more about what the Fresh Air Fund is all about please ready HERE. Becoming a host family or donating to the FAF is a very rewarding this to do. Think about making a donation during the holidays to help these children fulfill their dreams! You can't go wrong and just knowing that you are able to help in some way is a great feeling!

Who are the 'Fresh Air" children? Fresh Air children are boys and girls, six to 18 years old, who live in New York City. Children on first-time visits are six to 12 years old and stay for either one or two weeks. Youngsters who are re-invited by the same family may continue with The Fund through age 18, and many enjoy longer summertime visits, year after year. A visit to the home of a warm and loving volunteer host family can make all the difference in the world to an inner-city child. All it takes to create lifelong memories is laughing in the sunshine and making new friends.

The majority of Fresh Air children are from low-income communities. These are often families without the resources to send their children on summer vacations. Most inner-city youngsters grow up in towering apartment buildings without large, open, outdoor play spaces. Concrete playgrounds cannot replace the freedom of running barefoot through the grass or riding bikes down country lanes.

Fresh Air children are registered by more than 90 participating social service and community

organizations located in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the five boroughs of New York City. These community-based agencies are in close contact with children in need of summer experiences in rural and suburban areas. Each agency is responsible for registering children for the program.

What do Fresh Air children enjoy?

• Playing in the backyard
• Laughing in the sunshine
• Catching fireflies
• Riding bicycles
• Learning to swim
• Running barefoot through the grass
• Gazing at the stars on moonlit nights
• Building sandcastles
• Making new friends
• Simple pleasures of life away from the inner-city

Summer may seem far away, but NYC children are currently participating in Fresh Air programs, from weekly tutoring sessions to job shadowings to weekend retreats at Fund camps in upstate New York! Our Career Awareness Program serves more than 300 youngsters in middle and high school. We also have new leadership programs for young women to develop their “can-do” attitudes!

No matter the season, Fresh Air children remain involved, excited and forward-thinking. We need loyal friends like you to continue serving thousands of New York City children throughout the year. Thank you!

To make a donation, please click here.

Every year, The Fresh Air Fund gives thousands of inner-city children the priceless gift of fun – and opens the door to a lifetime of opportunities.

Whether it's a two-week trip to the country to visit a volunteer host family, or a fun-filled and educational stay at one of our fund camps, our programs make for unforgettable memories – and open a world of new friendships and fresh possibilities.

• Just $10 will send one child on a bus ride to his or her Friendly Town host family.

$24 provides a child with a week of swimming lessons.

$42 provides a day of Career Awareness classes.

A gift of $50 can fund a camp counselor for a day.

If you can give as much as $91, you provide a child at camp with meals for a week.

We are a not-for-profit agency and depend on tax-deductible donations from people like you to keep our vital programs flourishing.