Fresh Air Fund Seeks Local Volunteers

The Fresh Air Fund’s Cape Cod region committee is eagerly preparing for summer 2012 and the arrival of New York City children! To ensure that this year’s program is a success, The Fresh Air Fund is currently seeking volunteer members and host families so that visiting children can enjoy new experiences and lasting friendships. Each summer, close to 4,000 New York City children, ages six to 18, enjoy vacations for up to two weeks with volunteer host families in suburban, rural, and small town communities across 13 Northeastern states and Canada. Local Fresh Air Fund volunteers recruit and interview host families, check references and coordinate group program activities in their communities.

As one host parent explains, “Hosting has inspired me to volunteer for The Fresh Air Fund in other capacities to help guarantee the program’s success in our area. My family has been so grateful for our relationship with our summer visitor!”

In 2012, The Fresh Air Fund will celebrate its 136^th summer of bare feet, sandcastles and starry nights for children from New York City’s low-income communities. It only takes one conversation with a Fresh Air child to realize the impact of staying with a volunteer host family. “We were on a walk and I saw a wild snapping turtle! It was so cool because I don’t see many animals in the wild,” remembers eight-year-old Brittney of Queens, NY.

For more information on how you can join your local Fresh Air volunteer team, call LaShika Walker at (800) 367-0003 or The Fresh Air Fund at (800) 367-0003. You can also learn more about the Volunteer Host Family program by visiting The Fresh Air Fund’s Web site at www.freshair.org.

Information taken from a Fresh Air Fund press release