‘Fresh Air’ Hosts Are Needed

To the Editor:

There may still be some snow on the ground, and it feels like the weather will remain cloudy and cold, but eventually the grass will turn green, the flowers will bloom and spring will be in the air. With that thought in our mind, summer is just around the corner. When we think summer, we think summer vacations. Trips to the park, going to the beach, fishing in a lake, riding a bicycle, chasing fireflies in the evening, and running barefoot in the grass are all activities we can enjoy doing in the summer.

For the children who live in New York City most of these activities are not available to them. For over 100 years The Fresh Air Fund’s Friendly Town Program has been providing inner-city children the chance to do all these things. Fresh Air hosts are young families, single professionals, empty nesters, and grandparents – all of whom want to share the simple pleasures of country life with an inner-city child. This year, 2001, the Fund celebrates is 125th anniversary of serving children.

I am extremely grateful to the families in Newtown who in the past have opened their hearts and homes to a New York City child through this program. On behalf of Katherine, Chris, Jocelyn, Ann Marie, Michael and Briana, and the many, many other children who visit, I thank you.

The Fresh Air Fund is always looking for more volunteer families to provide a child with a two-week respite from the city. For more information on how you can become a host please call Susan Dann at 203-790-1465 or The Fresh Air Fund at 800-367-0003.

Sincerely,

Susan Dann

104 Plumtrees Road, Bethel                                   March 30, 2001