Fresh air, fresh ideas

Summertime. Swimming, playing, camping, fishing, running around outside. These are all things our children probably do many summer afternoons. We likely take it for granted as residents of the bucolic Harlem Valley, but there are many people, children especially, who have never had the opportunity to spend their summers in the great outdoors. 

Each year thousands of children from low-income communities in New York City are given exactly that chance through the Fresh Air Fund, a not-for-profit organization that has provided free summer experiences to more than 1.8 million inner-city children since 1877.

This summer, as in previous summers, nearly 4,000 children from New York City visited suburban and/or rural communities. Thirteen states, “from Virginia to Maine and Canada” participate through the Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Host Family Program, according to the organization. There are some families right here in the Harlem Valley that do so, many offering the same wonderful opportunity to underprivileged youngsters year after year.

Children from age 6 to 12 typically spend one to two weeks with a Fresh Air Fund host family. Those who are invited back to their host family may do so, often for longer stays, until they turn 18 years old. According to the organization, more than 65 percent of all children are reinvited to stay with their host families every year.

What an incredible program — to offer something so fundamental to those who too often go without. Living in the city has its perks, but when living in a low-income area there are often more struggles than benefits. Why not try to alleviate some of the pain and frustration that can come with being a child making his or her way through the concrete jungle?

Every child should have the chance to take a deep breath and fill their lungs with fresh country air. And as it happens, many of us have the good fortune of being able to open our homes and share our lives, if only for a little while, with others. We live, work and play in these parts, and it would be really nice if we could try to familiarize children to whom our lives seem foreign with the basics of country life.

There’s nothing like a little fresh air to make a difference in a youngster’s life. After all, healthy bodies lead to healthy minds. And in the countryside, imaginations can grow as children themselves develop. The hillsides, the trees, the lakes and the birds — they all convey a sense of health and well  being. Isn’t that something every child should have the opportunity to experience?

To consider becoming a Fresh Air Host Family call 845-242-6880 or go to the Fresh Air Fund at www.freshair.org.