The Fresh Air Fund is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of ...

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

agency founded in 1877. At sleepaway camps in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley, visiting volunteer host families along the East Coast and in NYC-based programs, children have new experiences, learn new skills and gain new perspectives. Fresh Air children also participate in year-round leadership, career exploration and educational programs. The Fresh Air Fund has served more than 1.8 million children since their founding.

History

In 1877, The Fresh Air Fund was created to allow children living in underserved communities the chance to enjoy free summer experiences in the country. Reverend Willard Parsons, a minister who had just moved from New York City to 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.Guarneri, Julia (January 2012). "Changing Strategies for Child Welfare, Enduring Beliefs about Childhood: The Fresh Air Fund, 1877–1926." ''Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era''. Vol. 11, issue 1, pp. 27–70; here: p. 28. doi: 10.1017/S1537781411000454. Retrieved via ''Proquest Research Library'' database, 2017-07-04. 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 Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the dom ...

. By 1888, The Fund was incorporated as The Tribune Fresh Air Fund Aid Society. Today, Fresh Air continues to depend on favorable publicity from the media with assistance from

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

Volunteer host family program, called "Friendly Towns"

Fresh Air children ages 8 to 14 years old are given the opportunity to visit with host families to experience the joys of summer in the country. Fresh Air children are registered by more than 90 participating

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or adminis ...

and community organizations located in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the

five boroughs 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. First-time visitors, eight to 14 years old, spend one or two weeks with their host family. Youth 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 Towns host families are volunteers who live in the

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separa ...

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 children. There are no

financial Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of f ...

requirements for hosting a child. The majority of Fresh Air children are from underserved communities, often without the resources to send their children on summer experiences. Children create lifelong

memories Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...

of riding bikes, swimming at the beach, visiting local attractions and making new friends. In every Friendly Town, there is a volunteer

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

and

Chairperson The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

responsible for the program. The committee publicizes the program, screens applications, checks

references Reference is a relationship between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to ''refer to'' the second object. It is called a ''name'' ...

, 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 Reservatio

in

Fishkill, New York Fishkill is a village within the town of Fishkill in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The village is in the eastern part of the town of Fishkill on U.S. Route 9. It is north of Interstate 84. NY 52 is the main street. It is part of the ...

, 65 miles north of

. Sharpe Reservation has 2,300 acres of land with lakes, ponds, streams and

hiking trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

through the woods. The Fund's sixth camp, Camp Junior, is located in Harriman State Park. Camp Tommy is The Fund's camp for boys, ages 12 to 15. Camp Tommy offers hiking, nature and other outdoor programs designed to develop

cooperation Cooperation (written as co-operation in British English) is the process of groups of organisms working or acting together for common, mutual, or some underlying benefit, as opposed to working in competition for selfish benefit. Many animal a ...

and encourage

team building Team building is a collective term for various types of activities used to enhance social relations and define roles within teams, often involving collaborative tasks. It is distinct from team training, which is designed by a combine of business ...

. Major improvements and recently constructed facilities have created opportunities for significant educational programs, such as literacy and career skills development, computer workshops,

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

and

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

. Originally Camp Pioneer from 1948-1998, Camp Tommy's inaugural year was 1999. Camp Tommy is named after

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( /hɪlˈfɪgər/; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's Place in upst ...

, a supporter of The Fresh Air Fund. Camp Hayden-Marks Memorial serves boys each session, age nine to 12. Campers enjoy outdoor activities including

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

, cooperative games,

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether Motorboat, powerboats, Sailing, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sp ...

arts and crafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

and

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

. Boys at Hayden-Marks Memorial also benefit from educational activities, including

computers A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These programs ...

, video,

and

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

. At Camp ABC, girls ages 9-15 live in small groups where they learn to develop

self-confidence Confidence is a state of being clear-headed either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from a Latin word 'fidere' which means "to trust"; therefore, having ...

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

and

teamwork Teamwork is the collaborative effort of a group to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in the most effective and efficient way. This concept is seen within the greater framework of a team, which is a group of interdependent individual ...

skills. Educational programs promote environmental awareness, cultural arts and physical fitness in a fun, safe, supportive environment. Camp ABC has a Leaders-in-Training program for 13 – 15 year olds, which focuses on personal growth, developing self-confidence and leadership skills. Camp Hidden Valley serves 130 girls and boys with and without

special needs In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in ...

, ages eight to 12. At this unique camp, children with and without

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

live and play together. Camp activities include

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

and

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

. The specially designed pool complex is utilized by all campers, including children who use wheelchairs, braces or other forms of assistance. Camp Mariah, The Fund's

Career The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defin ...

Awareness Camp, provides the opportunity for

adolescents Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

to explore educational paths and career options, while enjoying camp

adventures An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme sp ...

. Camp Mariah offers a unique setting to engage boys and girls in an educational

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

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 (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

. Camp Junior, in memory of Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz, a 15 year-old victim of gang violence, is operated by The Fresh Air Fund in partnership with New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie, Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. The camp is for boys and girls, ages 8-15, from the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

Year-round programs and off-season camping

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

cooking Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to Outline of food preparation, prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric ...

, 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, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

team-building Team building is a collective term for various types of activities used to enhance social relations and define roles within teams, often involving collaborative tasks. It is distinct from team training, which is designed by a combine of business ...

and communications skills through a year-round program.

Career Awareness Programs

The Career Awareness Program focuses on expanding the

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

and

career The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defin ...

options of

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.

References

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 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fresh Air Fund Organizations based in New York City 1877 establishments in New York (state)