The Fresh Air Fund

"Thank you for a wonderful summer!"

The summer of 2009 was amazingly successful thanks to the generous support from all of The Fresh Air Fund volunteers and donors. With your help, next summer will be wonderful too.

2009 Summer Highlights:

Nearly 8,000 children enjoyed their best summers yet
370 students participated in the Career Awareness Program
11 counselors-in-training spent three days on the Appalachian Trail
168 young people were Leaders-in-training

For a more personal take on what a Fresh Air summer means to our campers and Friendly Town children, here are some heartwarming quotes:

“Camp has way more trees, a lot more things that you can see than New York City.” – Yaramyah, 11

“I learned how to swim…I didn’t know how before.” – Malaysia, 9

“I learned a lot of different things from the counselors – I learned how to trust each other, how to respect others, to treat everyone the same.” – Jeremy, 14

“It’s beautiful up there. I could never get tired of waking up to the perfect sunrise and going to sleep to the perfect sunset.” – Francine, 16

Thanks to host families who open up their homes for up to two weeks each summer, children growing up in New York City’s toughest neighborhoods have experienced the joys of Fresh Air vacations.

More than 65% of all children are reinvited to stay with their host family, year after year.

Fresh Air Fund Host Families

There is no such thing as a "typical" host family. If you have room in your home - and your heart - to host a child, you could be one too.

Learn More

Fresh Air Fund Children

Fresh Air children are boys and girls, six to 12 years old, who reside in low-income communities in New York City and are eager to experience the simple pleasures of life outside the city.

You can give a child the experience of a
lifetime with your gift to The Fresh Air Fund!

Every year, The Fresh Air Fund gives thousands of inner-city children the priceless gift of fun – and opens the door to a lifetime of opportunities.

Whether it's a two-week trip to visit a volunteer host family, or a fun-filled and educational stay at one of our camps, our programs make for unforgettable memories – and open a world of new friendships and fresh possibilities.

We are a not-for-profit agency and depend on tax-deductible donations from people like you to keep our vital programs flourishing.

Donate online now
Fresh Air Fund in the News

Invaluable Volunteers - New York Times - September 6, 2009

In 2009, hundreds of volunteers have been tutoring and mentoring adolescents in our Career Awareness Program. More children had volunteer tutors this year than ever before.

Changing perspectives - The News Journal - August 14, 2009

The nonprofit Fresh Air Fund is a 132-year-old program that gives disadvantaged New York City children a summer vacation away from the hustle of urban life . . .

NY City Kids Dive Into Maine - WCSH-TV - August 10, 2009

The park donated free passes to the Fresh Air Fund... allowing about a hundred kids and their host families into the park. For years organizers with the . . .

Local family welcomes child from inner city for seventh visit - Williamsport Sun-Gazette - August 8, 2009

Thanks to the Fresh Air Fund program, Getgen's wish came true. The Newberry family welcomed Cynthia Sarmiento, a 15-year-old from Queens, NY, . . .

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THE FRESH AIR FUND, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Nearly 10,000 New York City children enjoy free Fresh Air Fund programs annually. In 2009, close to 5,000 children visited volunteer host families in suburbs and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada. 3,000 children also attended five Fresh Air camps on a 2,300-acre site in Fishkill, New York. The Fund’s year-round camping program serves an additional 2,000 young people each year.

Fresh Air Fund History

In 1877, the Reverend Willard Parsons, minister of a small rural parish in Sherman, Pennsylvania, asked members of his congregation to provide country vacations as volunteer host families for children from New York City tenements. This was the beginning of The Fresh Air Fund tradition of caring for NYC’s neediest children. The simplicity of our program is its strength. Looking back to 1877, we can reflect on how much has changed, and how much has stayed the same. In 2009, close to 5,000 New York City children experienced the joys of summertime in Friendly Towns and at five Fund camps in upstate New York.

The Fresh Air Fund 2009 Summer Memories

Camp Video

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Fresh Air Fund PSA

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Friendly Town Program - Fresh Air Fund

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Angela Pender-Fox, Friendly Town Director
APenderfox@freshair.org

Jenny Morgenthau, Executive Director
(212) 897-8898
jmorgenthau@freshair.org

Kate Brinkerhoff, Public Relations Director
(212) 897-8890
kbrinkerhoff@freshair.org

Sara Wilson, Outreach Coordinator
sara@freshair.org

Download The Fresh Air Fund logo

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