You Can Give A Child A Break This Summer

My wife grew up in the Bronx, NY so I am familiar with what she went through as a child. Apartment living. Dangerous neighborhoods. Overcrowded schools. Hot, gritty summers. There wasn’t much about living in the city that was positive, though sampling fresh made Italian ices offered the occasional respite. That is, when she was able to leave the confines of her apartment to make the trek to the shop under the protection of an older brother.

As a suburban kid, I was able to enjoy the great outdoors and the safety of my neighborhood without giving any thought to gangs lurking nearby, drugs being sold on the street, or countless other hazards around me. But, I do remember family friends of ours who opened up their home every summer for two weeks to allow a city kid to have a place to stay. I learned that they had responded to an ad everyone was seeing on television – for the Fresh Air Fund – where kids can be kids and enjoy all the privileges that most other children experience throughout the year for a brief amount of time.

The Fresh Air Fund keeps busy year ’round as they are seeking families to open up their homes to a needy child each summer. The requirements aren’t stringent – you need to have some room in your home and a large heart to welcome a child — giving him or her all of the love you would give to your own son or daughter.

You can take a Fresh Air Fun child to the park, to the beach, go camping, choose ice cream cones, visit family and friends, you name it. The time that you spend with the child in your care will benefit him or her, but also give you and your family a chance to understand what they’re going through. What you see on television, hear on the radio or read in the newspaper often fails to capture the human angle – your Fresh Air Fun guest is the real deal.

The Fresh Air Fund says that 65% of the children who stay with a host family are invited back the following year. Some children spend many summers with the same family, which allows them to escape boredom, avoid trouble and relish in the hope that their future can certainly be a promising one. Though summer is many months away, the Fresh Air Fund is looking for host families right now, people who can open up their homes to a child during Summer 2009.

Children come from New York City, but you don’t have to live in a nearby suburb to host a child. Families from Maine to Virginia (and Ontario too) are eligible to serve as hosts, which can give that child a much broader perspective of the world.

If interested, visit the Fresh Air Fund site to find out how you can make a difference in the life of one urban child. And, yes, donations are cheerfully accepted too.

Hiring A Writer, Freelancer or Full Time

When businesses look for a writer, whether a contractor to provide services as needed or from someone whom they would like to bring on staff, determining who is capable of doing the work is one thing while that person’s availability may be something else. There a lot of
“freelance writers” available for work, but their track record may not have been proven. Then again, some freelancers are extremely busy managing current projects and have little time to consider taking on additional assignments let alone full time employment.

As a hiring authority, there are several things that you can do to ensure that you find a capable and available author:

1. Does the author have experience? Importantly, is he or she able to write on the proposed topic? A good author will have samples of his or her work readily available for your review. Do not assume that all of the author’s work is posted online — for example, I write for several print publications and I know that there are not online copies of my writings available except for people who subscribe to the respective sites. I consider these articles to be my best work and will furnish copies to interested parties. Always ask for samples of related work whether published online or in print.

2. If the author is to cover a topic outside of their areas of expertise are you willing to pay extra for the research the author may need to do in order to accomplish this task? Oftentimes people assume that I can bang out a bunch of articles on a particular subject off of the top of my head. In some cases this may be true, but I prefer to research my material and, in some cases, interview and cite my sources. I expect to be compensated for my research time.

3. Is the author available to work on your project now or is he or she currently tied up with other assignments? How tight is your deadline? Can you work with the author’s schedule or is your schedule not flexible? Would you consider using the same author at a future date for a different project if no agreement can be arrived at for the current project? Jobs come and go — I can busy one week and available the next.

4. Does the author have references? Can you get a person’s name and phone number and contact them about their work? Like hiring a full time worker, three strong and verifiable references should be enough for you to determine whether you want to work with a particular writer or not.

5. How much does the author expect to be paid? Does the author list on his or her website a pricing structure? Can you get an estimate? What payment methods are acceptable? Contracts are the best way to work with a freelancer especially if you are looking for a long term relationship.

6. Is the author writing on your behalf as a ghostwriter or do you want the author to use his or her name and submit the articles to article directories for links back to your site?

Before I accept any assignment I prefer to discuss over the telephone details of what the hiring party wants, what I can do for this person, and attempt to get a better feel for the job. I do not hard sell my work; if someone is interested in my capabilities then we move forward. If not, we both move on. Taking this approach benefits both parties as it ensures that whatever relationship is eventually formed becomes a strong one.

Please note: This article originally appeared on The Article Writer blog on December 12, 2005 as Locating A High Quality Author. It has been updated and reformatted for this site.