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Fresh Air Fund Urges: "Create Summer Memories: Host a New York City Child"
Your backyard could be a summertime oasis to an innercity child. Many Fresh Air children have never left New York City. Visiting a host family is a chance to run through freshly cut grass, skip over a sprinkler and watch the night sky fill with stars. Close to 5,000 New York City children visit volunteer host families in the Northeast for two weeks or longer each summer through The Fresh Air Fund's Friendly Town program. As a host, you can help more children from low-income neighborhoods in New York City experience the simple summer pleasures of Putnam County.
"Hosting has changed our lives. It is fantastic for my children to welcome a child into our home and form a friendship. Our Fresh Air child adds a little more spark to the household," explains one host parent. Many families find their hosting experiences so rewarding that over 65 percent of all children are re-invited to stay with host families, year after year.
This year, The Fresh Air Fund needs more families to volunteer as hosts for the Friendly Town program. There are no financial requirements, and the host family can choose the age and gender of their visitor. Firsttime visitors range in age from six to 12 and can be invited back through The Fund until age 18.
Take the opportunity to learn more about The Fresh Air Fund and hosting a child this summer. Contact Josie Schlem at (845) 621-3760 or call The Fund at (800) 367-0003. You can also visit The Fund's Web site at
www.freshair.org.
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