Area residents who would like to open their home to a young visitor from New York City this summer may reach out now to the local representative of the Fresh Air Fund.
The Fresh Air Fund has provided free summer experiences to more than 1.8 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Children in the program are between the ages of 7 and 18, according to a press release.
Karen Medlin of Marlboro has hosted Fresh Air Fund children for 10 years and she has been the volunteer chairwoman for Monmouth County for eight years.
“If interested people contact me, I will schedule an in-home visit that takes about an hour. I will check the hosts’ personal references and the New York office will perform a criminal background check,” Medlin said. “All families are welcome to be hosts. We have empty-nesters, multi-racial couples, same-sex couples, and if children live in the house that is definitely a plus.
“It is a wonderful program for the children who visit. Things we may find boring, like seeing a deer, will be memories that will last a lifetime. What the host families do during the week is up to them.”
Typical activities for host families and their young guests from New York City include taking a trip to the beach, spending a day at Six Flags Great Adventure, visiting local parks or having fun in a backyard pool or on a backyard trampoline.
A press release from the Fresh Air Fund noted that one child, Madisen, 11, has visited the same family for the past two summers.
Linda MacKinnon, who hosted Madisen, said, “Seeing the world through Madisen’s eyes and enthusiastic spirit has made our whole family appreciate what we have. On her visit, Madisen joined us in our daily summer activities.
“She tried lots of things for the first time that we often take for granted; this summer she learned how to play tennis, attended her first yoga class, fed the horses that live next door and swam in the ocean for the first time. Madisen really reminds us of how special the simple things are,” MacKinnon said.
For more information about hosting a Fresh Air Fund child, contact Karen Medlin at 732-740-0449.