Stamford Family Wins Fresh Air Fund Photo Contest

The Fleischer family of Stamford celebrated the pure joys of summer with The Fresh Air Fund and were among the winners of The Fresh Air Fund’s 2014 Photo Contest.

All winners were selected from the hundreds of pictures sent in by volunteer host families across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada, reflecting the memorable experiences they shared with their New York City visitors this past summer. Categories include “Laketime Fun,” “Summer Siblings,” “By the Beach,” and “Fresh Air Foodies.”

The Fleischer family’s photo was determined the winner of the “In the Pool” category, and features Fresh Air visitor Ruben, 12, enjoying a relaxing day in the pool in Connecticut his host siblings, Kevin and Maggie. The family said in a statement, “My parents hosted a Fresh Air Fund child when I was a kid, so it was important to me that when I had kids, I would do the same. I knew that we would give Ruben a fantastic experience, but I never imagined how much the experience would affect my kids. They have become more tolerant, patient, and appreciative and when Ruben is here, they have all kinds of fun!”

The Fresh Air Fund, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer experiences to more than 1.8 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. For more information on hosting a Fresh Air child next summer, please contact Nicole Heath at 203-829-8196 or visit The Fresh Air Fund online at www.freshair.org.

Contributed photo: from left, Kevin and Maggie Fleischer and Ruben Hernandez.

Have a news tip? Email barbara.heins@patch.com. You can also post your own news, events and announcements on Patch by following these directions. Curious about how our new commenting platform, Disqus, works? Learn more about it here and start interacting with your neighbors on Patch.