Fresh Air Fund
Encyclopedia
The Fresh Air Fund is a not-for-profit agency that provides free summer vacations in the country to New York City
children from disadvantaged communities. Each year, thousands of children visit volunteer host families in 13 states from Virginia
to Maine
and Canada
through the Friendly Town Program or attend one of five Fresh Air Fund summer camps. The Fresh Air Fund has helped more than 1.7 million children since 1877.
.
Reverend Willard Parsons, a minister of a small, rural parish in Sherman, Pennsylvania, asked members of his congregation to provide country vacations as volunteer host families for New York City’s neediest children. This was the beginning of The Fresh Air Fund. By 1881, the work of The Fund was expanding so rapidly that Reverend Parsons asked for and secured support from The New York Herald Tribune. By 1888, The Fund was incorporated as The Tribune Fresh Air Fund Aid Society. Today, Fresh Air continues to benefit from the support of the media with invaluable assistance from The New York Times
.
to experience the joys of summer in the country. Fresh Air children are registered by more than 90 participating social services and community organizations located in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the five boroughs of New York City
. First time visitors, six to 12 years old, spend one to two weeks with their host family. Youngsters who are re-invited by the same family may continue with The Fund through age 18 and may enjoy longer summertime visits year after year.
Friendly Town host families are volunteers who live in the suburbs or small town
communities. Host families range in size and background, but share the desire to open their hearts and homes to give city children an experience they will never forget. Hosts say the Fresh Air experience is as enriching for their own families, as it is for the inner-city children. There are no financial
requirements for hosting a child.
The majority of Fresh Air children are from low-income communities, often without the resources to send their children on summer vacations. A visit to the home of a warm and loving volunteer host family can make all the difference in the world to an inner-city child. All it takes to create lifelong memories is laughing in the sunshine, running barefoot in the grass, riding bikes down country lanes and making new friends.
In every Friendly Town, there is a volunteer committee
and Chairperson responsible for the program. The committee publicizes the program, screens applications, checks references, interviews families in their homes and approves new hosts. The committee members also make follow-up visits to all participating host families every three years. The Friendly Town committee assists hosts while Fresh Air children are visiting and often plans group activities during the trips. The Fresh Air Fund provides support to Fund Representatives, Chairpeople and host families 24 hours a day, when Fresh Air children are visiting their towns.
, 65 miles north of New York City
. Sharpe Reservation has 2,300 acres of beautiful land with lakes, ponds, streams and hiking trails through the woods.
Camp Tommy is The Fund's camp for boys, ages 12 to 15, with 120 campers in each session. Camp Tommy offers hiking, nature and other outdoor programs designed to develop cooperation
and encourage team building
. Major improvements and recently constructed facilities have created opportunities for significant educational programs, such as literacy and career skills development, computer workshops, photography
and music
. Originally Camp Pioneer from 1948-1998, Camp Tommy's inaugural year was 1999. Camp Tommy is named after Tommy Hilfiger
for his generous support and dedication to Fresh Air children.
Camp Hayden-Marks Memorial serves 204 boys each session, age nine to 12. Campers enjoy outdoor activities including sports, cooperative games, fishing
, boating
and hiking
. Boys at Hayden-Marks Memorial also benefit from educational activities, including computers, video, music
and art
.
At Camp ABC, girls live in small groups where they learn to develop self-confidence
, independence
and teamwork
skills. Educational programs promote environmental awareness, cultural arts and physical fitness in a fun, safe, supportive environment. Each session, 216 girls make new friends while participating in many different fun and exciting activities.
Camp Hidden Valley serves 130 girls and boys with and without special needs
, ages eight to 12. At this unique camp, children with and without disabilities live and play together and find out how much they have in common. Some of the special needs our campers have include sickle-cell anemia, cerebral palsy
, muscular dystrophy
, hearing impairments and physical disabilities that require the use of wheelchairs, braces or crutches. Camp activities include art
, hiking
, nature
and creative writing
. The specially-designed pool complex is enjoyed by all campers, including children who use wheelchairs, braces or other forms of assistance.
Camp Mariah, The Fund's Career
Awareness Camp, enables nearly 300 inner-city adolescents to explore educational paths and career options, while enjoying camp adventures. Camp Mariah offers a unique setting to engage boys and girls in an educational curriculum
and prepare them for the world of work. Intensive three-and-a-half-week summer sessions and weekend camping trips are complemented by year-round activities in New York City. Children must be in the sixth grade to apply for the Career Awareness Program. Camp Mariah is named after Board member Mariah Carey
for her generous support and dedication to Fresh Air children.
sponsors day trips to camp, to help brighten the lives of children living in housing developments. This year-round partnership
with The Fresh Air Fund continues to flourish and provide camping programs to 2,000 inner-city youngsters.
The Fund has expanded its initiative to intensify its relationship with young campers. Boys and girls from Camps Hayden-Marks Memorial, Hidden Valley and Anita Bliss Coler (ABC) participate in weekend camping programs in the fall, winter and spring. Activities included hiking
, cooking
, arts and crafts and cooperative games.
The Counselor-In-Training (CIT) Program at Camps Anita Bliss Coler (ABC) and Hayden-Marks Memorial have expanded tremendously in recent years. The majority of the CITs are former campers. All CITs must be 16 and 17 years old at the beginning of the summer. During summer and weekend camp visits, young people acquire supervisory skills to become future camp counselors. They develop leadership
, team-building and communications skills through a year-round program.
and career
options of New York City
adolescents. Boys and girls, ages 12 to 14, make a commitment for three years in order to participate in specially-designed educational, recreational and camping experiences in New York City and at Camp Mariah. All students register in the spring of 6th grade. After completion of the 6th grade school year, they begin the program in the summer.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
children from disadvantaged communities. Each year, thousands of children visit volunteer host families in 13 states from Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
through the Friendly Town Program or attend one of five Fresh Air Fund summer camps. The Fresh Air Fund has helped more than 1.7 million children since 1877.
The Fresh Air Fund's History
In 1877, The Fresh Air Fund, an independent not-for-profit organization, was created with one simple mission — to allow children living in disadvantaged communities to get away from hot, noisy city streets and enjoy free summer experiences in the countryCountry
A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...
.
Reverend Willard Parsons, a minister of a small, rural parish in Sherman, Pennsylvania, asked members of his congregation to provide country vacations as volunteer host families for New York City’s neediest children. This was the beginning of The Fresh Air Fund. By 1881, the work of The Fund was expanding so rapidly that Reverend Parsons asked for and secured support from The New York Herald Tribune. By 1888, The Fund was incorporated as The Tribune Fresh Air Fund Aid Society. Today, Fresh Air continues to benefit from the support of the media with invaluable assistance from The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
The Volunteer Host Family Program, called ″Friendly Town″
Fresh Air children ages six to 18 years old are given the opportunity to visit with host families across 13 different states and CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to experience the joys of summer in the country. Fresh Air children are registered by more than 90 participating social services and community organizations located in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the five boroughs of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. First time visitors, six to 12 years old, spend one to two weeks with their host family. Youngsters who are re-invited by the same family may continue with The Fund through age 18 and may enjoy longer summertime visits year after year.
Friendly Town host families are volunteers who live in the suburbs or small town
Small Town
Small Town is a song written by John Cougar Mellencamp and released on his 1985 album Scarecrow. The song reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.-Content:...
communities. Host families range in size and background, but share the desire to open their hearts and homes to give city children an experience they will never forget. Hosts say the Fresh Air experience is as enriching for their own families, as it is for the inner-city children. There are no financial
FINANCIAL
FINANCIAL is the weekly English-language newspaper with offices in Tbilisi, Georgia and Kiev, Ukraine. Published by Intelligence Group LLC, FINANCIAL is focused on opinion leaders and top business decision-makers; It's about world’s largest companies, investing, careers, and small business. It is...
requirements for hosting a child.
The majority of Fresh Air children are from low-income communities, often without the resources to send their children on summer vacations. A visit to the home of a warm and loving volunteer host family can make all the difference in the world to an inner-city child. All it takes to create lifelong memories is laughing in the sunshine, running barefoot in the grass, riding bikes down country lanes and making new friends.
In every Friendly Town, there is a volunteer committee
Committee
A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
and Chairperson responsible for the program. The committee publicizes the program, screens applications, checks references, interviews families in their homes and approves new hosts. The committee members also make follow-up visits to all participating host families every three years. The Friendly Town committee assists hosts while Fresh Air children are visiting and often plans group activities during the trips. The Fresh Air Fund provides support to Fund Representatives, Chairpeople and host families 24 hours a day, when Fresh Air children are visiting their towns.
Summer Camping for New York City Children
The Fresh Air Fund owns and operates five camps located on The Fund’s Sharpe Reservation http://www.freshair.org/programs/sharpe-reservation.aspx in Fishkill, New YorkFishkill, New York
Fishkill is an upscale village within the much larger town, Town of Fishkill, one of the fastest growing towns in the region, in Dutchess County, New York, USA. The village population was 1,735 at the 2000 census...
, 65 miles north of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Sharpe Reservation has 2,300 acres of beautiful land with lakes, ponds, streams and hiking trails through the woods.
Camp Tommy is The Fund's camp for boys, ages 12 to 15, with 120 campers in each session. Camp Tommy offers hiking, nature and other outdoor programs designed to develop cooperation
Cooperation
Cooperation or co-operation is the process of working or acting together. In its simplest form it involves things working in harmony, side by side, while in its more complicated forms, it can involve something as complex as the inner workings of a human being or even the social patterns of a...
and encourage team building
Team building
Team building refers to a wide range of activities, presented to businesses, schools, sports teams, religious or nonprofit organizations designed for improving team performance...
. Major improvements and recently constructed facilities have created opportunities for significant educational programs, such as literacy and career skills development, computer workshops, photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. Originally Camp Pioneer from 1948-1998, Camp Tommy's inaugural year was 1999. Camp Tommy is named after Tommy Hilfiger
Tommy Hilfiger
Thomas Jacob "Tommy" Hilfiger is an American fashion designer and founder of the premium lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger.-Early life:...
for his generous support and dedication to Fresh Air children.
Camp Hayden-Marks Memorial serves 204 boys each session, age nine to 12. Campers enjoy outdoor activities including sports, cooperative games, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, boating
Boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...
and hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
. Boys at Hayden-Marks Memorial also benefit from educational activities, including computers, video, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
.
At Camp ABC, girls live in small groups where they learn to develop self-confidence
Self-confidence
The socio-psychological concept of self-confidence relates to self-assuredness in one's personal judgment, ability, power, etc., sometimes manifested excessively.Being confident in yourself is infectious if you present yourself well, others will want to follow in your foot steps towards...
, independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
and teamwork
Teamwork
Teamwork is action performed by a team towards a common goal. A team consists of more than one person, each of whom typically has different responsibilities....
skills. Educational programs promote environmental awareness, cultural arts and physical fitness in a fun, safe, supportive environment. Each session, 216 girls make new friends while participating in many different fun and exciting activities.
Camp Hidden Valley serves 130 girls and boys with and without special needs
Special needs
In the USA, special needs is a term used in clinical diagnostic and functional development to describe individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. For instance, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International...
, ages eight to 12. At this unique camp, children with and without disabilities live and play together and find out how much they have in common. Some of the special needs our campers have include sickle-cell anemia, cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
, muscular dystrophy
Muscular dystrophy
Muscular dystrophy is a group of muscle diseases that weaken the musculoskeletal system and hamper locomotion. Muscular dystrophies are characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins, and the death of muscle cells and tissue.In the 1860s, descriptions of boys who...
, hearing impairments and physical disabilities that require the use of wheelchairs, braces or crutches. Camp activities include art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
and creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
. The specially-designed pool complex is enjoyed by all campers, including children who use wheelchairs, braces or other forms of assistance.
Camp Mariah, The Fund's Career
Career
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
Awareness Camp, enables nearly 300 inner-city adolescents to explore educational paths and career options, while enjoying camp adventures. Camp Mariah offers a unique setting to engage boys and girls in an educational curriculum
Curriculum
See also Syllabus.In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses, and their content, offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults...
and prepare them for the world of work. Intensive three-and-a-half-week summer sessions and weekend camping trips are complemented by year-round activities in New York City. Children must be in the sixth grade to apply for the Career Awareness Program. Camp Mariah is named after Board member Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
for her generous support and dedication to Fresh Air children.
Year Round Programs and Off-Season Camping
The New York City Housing AuthorityNew York City Housing Authority
The New York City Housing Authority provides public housing for low- and moderate-income residents throughout the five boroughs of New York City. NYCHA also administers a citywide Section 8 Leased Housing Program in rental apartments...
sponsors day trips to camp, to help brighten the lives of children living in housing developments. This year-round partnership
Partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
with The Fresh Air Fund continues to flourish and provide camping programs to 2,000 inner-city youngsters.
The Fund has expanded its initiative to intensify its relationship with young campers. Boys and girls from Camps Hayden-Marks Memorial, Hidden Valley and Anita Bliss Coler (ABC) participate in weekend camping programs in the fall, winter and spring. Activities included hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, cooking
Cooking
Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...
, arts and crafts and cooperative games.
The Counselor-In-Training (CIT) Program at Camps Anita Bliss Coler (ABC) and Hayden-Marks Memorial have expanded tremendously in recent years. The majority of the CITs are former campers. All CITs must be 16 and 17 years old at the beginning of the summer. During summer and weekend camp visits, young people acquire supervisory skills to become future camp counselors. They develop leadership
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...
, team-building and communications skills through a year-round program.
Career Awareness Programs
The Career Awareness Program focuses on expanding the educationEducation
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and career
Career
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
options of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
adolescents. Boys and girls, ages 12 to 14, make a commitment for three years in order to participate in specially-designed educational, recreational and camping experiences in New York City and at Camp Mariah. All students register in the spring of 6th grade. After completion of the 6th grade school year, they begin the program in the summer.
External Links
- Inner-city children, country summers: narrating American childhood and the geographies of whiteness a discussion of media representations of the Fresh Air Fund and issues of race