Children from Brooklyn Left New York City for Free Summer Experiences Through The Fresh Air Fund

On July 24, 2015, Fatima Shama, Executive Director of The Fresh Air Fund, joined a group of children from Brooklyn at Port Authority Bus Terminal as they waited to board buses to visit volunteer host families for Fresh Air experiences. For one or two weeks, the youngsters spend the hottest weeks in the country and explore the beauty of nature while running barefoot through the grass, seeing the stars in the nighttime sky, roasting marshmallows over a campfire, and catching fireflies.

“I loved meeting our New York City children and families as they excitedly waited with anticipation to board the bus to meet their host families who have games, special foods, and plans awaiting our children,” said Fatima Shama, Executive Director of The Fresh Air Fund. “Our children have the chance to learn and experience new things not normally part of their traditional summer vacations.”

The Fresh Air Fund is still registering boys and girls ages 6-12 for the Volunteer Host Family Program Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 6:30pm, and Saturday, 10:00am to 1:00pm, at their New York City office, located on 633 Third Ave, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10017. For more information, please call The Fresh Air Fund at 212-897-8900 or visit www.freshair.org.

The Fresh Air Fund is an independent, not-for-profit agency that has provided free summer experiences to more than 1.8 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Each summer, close to 4,000 children visit volunteer host families in rural, suburban and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada.