The Fresh Air Fund
THE FRESH AIR FUND, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Nearly 10,000 New York City children enjoy free Fresh Air Fund programs annually. In 2008, close to 5,000 children visited volunteer host families in suburbs and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada. 3,000 children also attended five Fresh Air camps on a 2,300-acre site in Fishkill, New York. The Fund’s year-round camping program serves an additional 2,000 young people each year.
Fresh Air children are boys and girls, 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 either one or two weeks. Youngsters who are re-invited by the same family may continue with The Fund through age 18, and many enjoy longer summertime visits, year after year. A visit to the home of a warm and loving volunteer host family can make all the difference in the world to an inner-city child. All it takes to create lifelong memories is laughing in the sunshine and making new friends.
The majority of Fresh Air children are from low-income communities. These are often families without the resources to send their children on summer vacations. Most inner-city youngsters grow up in towering apartment buildings without large, open outdoor play spaces. Concrete playgrounds cannot replace the freedom of running barefoot through the grass or riding bikes down country lanes.
Fresh Air children are registered by more than 90 participating social service and community organizations located in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the five boroughs of New York City. These community-based agencies are in close contact with children in need of summer experiences in rural and suburban areas. Each agency is responsible for registering children for the program.
lifetime with your gift to The Fresh Air Fund!
Every year, The Fresh Air Fund gives thousands of inner-city children the priceless gift of fun – and opens the door to a lifetime of opportunities.
Whether it’s a two-week trip to visit a volunteer host family, or a fun-filled and educational stay at one of our camps, our programs make for unforgettable memories – and open a world of new friendships and fresh possibilities.
We are a not-for-profit agency and depend on tax-deductible donations from people like you to keep our vital programs flourishing.
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Have You Ever Noticed How Some People Blush When They Are Embarrassed?
Have you ever noticed how some people blush when they are embarrassed? Well I do not blush anymore since this happened. About the only thing more embarrassing would be when President Clinton Lied about Monica and got caught.
About twenty some years ago I got a great chance to go to Hawaii. All I had to pay was my plane fare. Hotel and the rest was covered. Chance of a lifetime. Right?
I had been losing weight and I thought I looked good. I had a swim suit and
some nice clothes and ready to go. I had to fly there and back on my own. The person I was meeting was already there and had their flight plans.
The trip to Hawaii was between four to five hours and was a good trip. I enjoy flying . My favorite is taking off and landing. The rest feels like riding in a car to me. I adore window seats. The sky is so beautiful,the clouds and looking down at the landscape. Going to Hawaii is looking at a lot of water.
The trip is one of the many highlights of my life. Our hotel was on Waikiki
beach on the Island of Honolulu. We went to a luau and ate the most wonderful fresh foods, The tropical plants hanging in my home grow wild here like weeds. The hotel had a bar with a big window looking into the pool. We could watch people swimming under water. The day I was there some young boys would swim up to the glass and moon us. How funny, now I think about it. I am sure back then, I was probably shocked and offended.
Well this is the last night. Fly home in the morning. We are going to eat at
Bobby McGee’s. We shower and get dressed. I put on a pair of pantyhose, a pair of nice tight fitting jeans and high heel clogs, a skimpy black shirt and wow, Good to go. I looked great. (you know how you feel after you have lost weight) You put on clothes you could not wear before and you look good.
Bobby McGee’s was wonderful. All the servers dress in costumes and are great. They take on the role of the person they are dressed as and I remember one of our servers was Mae West. She was good to, telling jokes and talking like Mae West. I had a few drinks but not to many. The food was delicious. The lobster tail was the best I have ever eaten. What a great last night to have here. After we had eaten and went back to our hotel I just simply got undressed and went to bed.
OK time to get up and fly home, Let me see, what shall I wear? Oh yes those tight jeans from last night and a shirt, good to go. I did not have them on long enough to get dirty and I looked hot. So I put on a pair of panty hose, jeans shirt, good to go.
At the airport I am on my own. My companion has a different flight home.
You know it takes forever and a day to get to your gate. Well here I am this
good looking woman walking and walking. People keep giving me some kind of odd look. I am thinking what is wrong with me? Am I unbuttoned? nope all in. Is my pants Unzipped? Nope all good. People keep giving me these odd looks. I am thinking what the hell is wrong with me? I look good. What is up with these crazy looks I am getting. I am really feeling freaky now. Am I an Alien from outer space or what? This is California people are strange here. I keep getting these weird looks. Finally a man walks up behind me with his wife and tells me there is a pair of pantyhose trailing behind me.
Oh My God!!! No wonder these people where giving me these crazy looks.
The whole pair was trailing behind me with maybe a foot still left in my pant
leg. I reached down snatched it up and found the nearest bathroom to hide in. That poor man, his wife was horrified he told me I was dragging pantyhose behind me. She was pulling on his arm. Well thank you kind sir wherever you are. I was so embarrassed I just sat there in the bathroom. I was the last to board my flight and almost missed it. They were closing the gate when I finally pulled my head up. Think about it. You would be giving crazy looks to. Would you tell the person? Or just let them keep walking? I felt so stupid, SO embarrassed. Not much of anything has ever bothered me since then. I expect to see this in a movie some time.
What has been learned? Always check inside your pants before you put them on. Who knows what got left inside.
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