Since 1877, the Fresh Air Fund has partnered urban children with suburban host families for a summer week in the country.
However, there are currently fewer volunteers than there are children involved in the program, according to Karen Medlin, Fresh Air Fund chairwoman for northern and western Monmouth County.
Medlin, a longtime volunteer for the program, recruits families to host children who want to experience the beaches and parks of suburban Monmouth County. In her recruiter’s role, Medlin stresses that there are benefits for host families, as well as for their summer guests.
“It refreshes your life, showing you that life isn’t the same everywhere, and it exposes disadvantaged kids to other ways of life, inspiring them to work hard and be successful,” she said
The Fresh Air Fund is a nonprofit that, through a network of volunteer host families, sends inner-city children away from the heat and bustle of Manhattan to the surrounding rural areas to enjoy a week of country life.
“From a personal standpoint, the mission is to get underprivileged kids out of the city and into the country for a week or so to show them what is possible,” Medlin said.
But more important than that, she said, the goal of the Fresh Air Fund is “to show these kids a good time.”
Because she grew up in New York City, Medlin said she has always been aware of the program and of the impact that it has. When she moved to New Jersey, becoming a host family simply seemed like the right decision for her, as well as her husband and three daughters.
Medlin welcomed the first “city kid” into her home about 10 years ago, and has been involved with the Fresh Air Fund ever since. Currently, she volunteers for the agency, interviewing prospective participants and matching them with suitable hosts.
On July 12, 60 New York City children arrived on a bus at Holmdel Park, where 60 host families waited eagerly to welcome them.
“The whole program is based on these host families,” Medlin said of the pairing process. “And they’re not all your typical ‘dad-mom-and-kids’ families — we have the gamut.”
Meeting and interviewing such a diverse range of children and potential volunteers, Medlin has come across and addressed different concerns of potential hosts to persuade them to get involved.
Many families, Medlin said, inquire about insurance and health issues. The Fresh Air Fund provides hosts with liability insurance, she said, and the nonprofit is willing to pay any medical expenses that the child may accrue.
“A lot of people are also concerned with entertaining,” Medlin said, “but it’s really a non-issue, because these kids can do what our kids do. Doing nothing is doing something for them. That’s the first thing that host families need to realize.”
It is often the little things that excite the children the most. While they are reserved and quiet on the bus ride from the city, Medlin said they are jubilant on their way back, telling their friends about the first time they swam in the ocean or about the deer they saw grazing on the side of the road.
Another common question is: “How much is it going to cost me for a week?” Speaking to such reservations, Medlin said, “There is plenty to do here in Monmouth County that doesn’t cost a lot of money.”
In the past, she said, many participants took trips to Dorbrook Park in Colts Neck, the Monmouth County Fair in Freehold Township and the beach, sometimes organizing small, fun activities with other host families.
Every prospective host family has its own “on-the-fence” question, but they all need to remember that the program is “just for a week,” said Medlin.
“It’s a week that is just as wonderful for you and your kids as it is for the city kids.”
Participation in the Fresh Air Fund is both rewarding and flexible in that host families can make the experience what they want it to be, Medlin said.
“If you establish a good connection with your city child, it can be as short as a week or as long as a lifetime,” she said.
For more information on becoming a Fresh Air Fund host, visit www.freshair.org.