Fresh Air Fund looking for Pennsylvania families to host NYC kids this summer

On a sweltering June day in 1877, a pastor in rural northeastern Pennsylvania urged his parishioners to open their hearts, and their doors, to city children.

That simple plea in Sherman, Lackawanna County, evolved into the Fresh Air Fund, a New York City-based nonprofit that’s allowed 1.8 million kids to visit host families in suburbs and rural areas each summer. Host families must live within three hours of New York City and fund executives are specifically looking for host families in the Philadelphia burbs this summer.

“It’s really a benefit for the youth and the family allowing a child into their home,” said Lisa Gitelson, the fund’s CEO.

While the Fresh Air Fund’s Friendly Towns program doesn’t require a two-parent household, it does look for one other child in the home. The are background checks and a modicum of training, but there is no cost to be a host. COVID-19 vaccinations are recommended, Gitelson said, but no longer required. Host families must have a bed for the host child.

Gitelson said most stays are for a week or longer. There’s no strict requirements for the families, in terms of activities.

“Ideally, we’re looking for families interested in exploring outdoor options with the youth, but mostly it’s about welcoming another person in the home,” Gitelson said. “Most of our families just live their regular life. Some take vacations. If their own children are taking tennis lessons that week, the host child can join in. It can also be a simple as going to the playground or playing in the backyard.”

Gitelson said host families have welcomed children to their farms and beach houses. City residents, she said, can be approved.

Fresh Air Fund kids are between the ages of 8 and 14 and all live in New York City. There’s an income cutoff to apply.

“That assures that the kids who need this the most get that opportunity,” she said.

For more information about becoming a host family, visit freshair.org/volunteer-to-be-a-host-family/. The fund also accepts donations from those who simply want to help fund the programs.