Each summer, nearly 4,000 inner-city children visit suburban, rural and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada through The Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Host Family Program. Volunteer host families in Central and Southern New Jersey open their hearts and homes to New York City children.

Fresh Air children are boys and girls, from six to 18 years old, who live in New York City. Children on first-time visits are six to 12 years old and stay for one or two weeks. Children who are re-invited by host families may continue with The Fresh Air Fund through age 18 and can enjoy extended trips. Families find hosting so rewarding that more than 65 percent of all Fresh Air children are invited to visit the same host families year after year. Through the eyes of Fresh Air children, families often rediscover the beauty of their own communities.

“I have so many favorite memories that it’s hard to pick: helping our Fresh Air child catch a fish for the first time, or how excited she was her first summer to see cows and horses, or finally being able to gaze up at the stars, because she said the glare of city lights doesn’t allow her to see them. It’s definitely the little things that mean the most,” says Meg, a Fresh Air host.

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 this summer, please contact Deborah Asirifi at (212) 897-8969 or visit The Fresh Air Fund online at www.freshair.org.