Long Island, NY - July 23rd, 2013 - 12 smiling New York City children boarded buses on July 19, 2013, headed for the Western Suffolk County, NY area, to reunite with their host families at the bus arrival in Commack. This summer, over 4,000 children will enjoy a summer outside of the city with volunteer host families in suburban, rural and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada through The Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Host Family Program.
“I’m excited to go swimming and to watch the stars at night. I can’t see them at night in the city!” explains ten-year-old Tyrone about his Fresh Air experiences. Many volunteer families find their hosting experience so rewarding that over 65 percent of all children are reinvited to stay with the same host families, year after year.
The Fresh Air Fund, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer experiences to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. For more information about hosting a Fresh Air child, call Russell Gomes at 1-631-680-8232 or visit The Fresh Air Fund online at www.freshair.org.
Pictured: New York City children Jeanise and Melanie began their Fresh Air summers on July 19th, by boarding the bus headed to Long Island. The girls are both spending the week with the Lynn family from Lloyd Harbor. Photo credit: Jackie Shapiro.