The Fresh Air Fund serving children since 1877: Sara Wilson from the fund has asked me to share their mission. It does come down to the power of social media!

Having been contacted by Sara Wilson, Outreach Coordinator  for the Non Profit organisation The Fresh Air Fund for Children, I’ve decided to support this cause by sharing their information in my blog. Before using my blog to support any organisation, I read their material thoroughly and check out reviews etc. I have decided on this occasion I will support this organisation by sharing their mission and providing a link to their site. How or whether you decide to support this organisation is up to you as the reader.

Background Information:

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 2010, 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.

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.

Link: http://www.freshair.org/programs

I’ve posted this video before, but I think it needs posting again. It only takes a few minutes to watch! (Great Soundtrack)

Cheers Nina