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.