Celebrate Fresh Air Fund volunteer dads on Father's Day

This Father’s Day is a time to celebrate the many men in Delaware who take on the role of Fresh Air father, as they open their hearts to New York City children through The Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Host Family Program for one or two weeks during the summer. This Father’s Day, the Fresh Air Fund asks Delaware families to consider sharing the joys of playing catch barefoot on the grass and roasting s’mores by the campfire with a New York City child.

“This experience can really impact your life in more ways than you would think; I am constantly discovering ways in which my Fresh Air child has enriched my life. My sons got involved and they always look forward to seeing their New York City friend,” says one Fresh Air host father.

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. Families find hosting so rewarding that more than 65 percent of all Fresh Air children are invited back to visit the same host families year after year. Fresh Air children are given the opportunity to experience a world outside of New York City full of meadows to run in, streams to fish in and lakes to swim in.

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, contact Shirley Weisel at 908-310-6766 or go to www.freshair.org.