Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Denest Warren loves to eat blackberries and raspberries, but she had never seen them growing on the vine.
That is, not until Denest visited the Szeliga family in Hopewell Township.
Denest, who is 8 years old, has spent 10 days with Dan and Lois Szeliga and their children each summer for the past two summers.
The Szeliga family, who live in the Elm Ridge Park neighborhood, have played host to Denest through the Fresh Air Fund. Denest lives with her family in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The goal of the Fresh Air Fund is to match host families with children who live in the city so they can find out what life is like in small towns and suburban areas. A child may participate in the Fresh Air Fund until he or she is 18 years old.
For Denest, visiting the Szeliga family has provided exposure to everything from picking her own blackberries and raspberries at Honey Brook Farm, to visiting Point Pleasant Beach and Jenkinson’s Boardwalk.
Last year’s visit, which was her initial one with the Szeliga family, marked the first time that Denest had ever been away from home. She said she was very happy at first, but after a couple of days, she was homesick. Her mother encouraged her to stay and told her that she just wanted her to have fun.
It seems to have worked, because Denest couldn’t wait for her 10-day visit this summer with Dan and Lois Szeliga and their six children – Dan, 14; Nate, 12; Eve, 9; Aaron, 8; Josie, 5; and Gabriella, 3.
“Spending time with these beautiful people – that’s my favorite part of being here,” Denest said with a big smile.
Denest likes to swim in the family’s swimming pool, and to visit Honey Brook Farm. She likes to play school with Eve. The two girls discovered they like the same things and have become close friends.
“It’s fun, having another girl in the home. I love going to the boardwalk (Jenkinson’s) and the farm with Denest. She is very nice and she is fun to play with,” Eve said.
Denest is the first child that the Szeliga family has hosted, although Lois Szeliga was already familiar with the Fresh Air Fund. The non-profit group has been in existence since 1877.
Szeliga recalled that when she was in her 20’s, her friend’s family had played host to a youngster through the Fresh Air Fund. And years later, when she herself was a young mother, she met another woman who hosted a child through the Fresh Air Fund.
But it wasn’t until the Szeliga family moved to Hopewell Township two years ago and joined Stone Hill Church in Princeton that they decided to become a Fresh Air Fund family.
A Fresh Air Fund representative visited Stone Hill Church and spoke about the program, Szeliga said. Although the Fresh Air Fund had “always been on my radar,” she said, it was the representative’s visit that inspired her to sign up for the program.
“When I looked out into our yard and saw the swimming pool, I thought, ‘We have to do this,’” Szeliga said, adding that it provides joy to the family to be able to share what they have with others.
“My children are old enough and now we have time to give to another child. A lot of times, summer can be busy for my children. But for these 10 days, we make sure we’re all together and have the chance to enjoy being together,” she said.
Dan Szeliga pointed out that becoming a Fresh Air Fund family allows the couple to show their children how they can reach out and share the blessings that they have with other people.
“If you have been blessed and you have things in your life, don’t take for granted what you have been given and keep it for yourself. You have to share it,” he said, adding that the best way to teach is by example.
“(My children) have had the opportunity to meet a new person. Denest has become an extension of our family. Hopefully, they will do something similar when they have their own families,” Szeliga said.
