Treasure, from Brooklyn, N.Y., enjoys a beautiful day with her summer sisters, Caroline and Isabelle. (Photo courtesy Alex Steedman)
Fresh Air summers are filled with children running through the sprinklers in the grass, gazing at star-filled skies, and swimming for the first time. This summer, one can join volunteer Fresh Air host families in the Midcoast region of Maine and open one’s heart and home to a Fresh Air child.
Each summer, thousands of children from New York City’s low-income communities visit suburban, rural, and small-town communities along the East Coast and Southern Canada through The Fresh Air Fund’s Friendly Towns program.
Treasure, age 9, has visited the Cleaveland family for the past two summers. Host mother Antonia said, “I remember the first year, she actually set her alarm so she could wake up early and make breakfast with me. She taught me to appreciate the small things and realize the importance of family time.”
The Fresh Air Fund, an independent not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer experiences to more than 1.8 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Fresh Air children are boys and girls, from 7-18 years old, who live in New York City. Children who are reinvited by host families may continue with The Fresh Air Fund through age 18 and can enjoy extended trips.
For more information about hosting a Fresh Air child this summer, contact Amy Goodwin at 208-6510 or go to freshair.org.
