Greater Harrisburg's Community Magazine

Fresh Air Fun: Over the summer, local families will host New York kids–and all will benefit.

Screenshot 2015-06-01 08.18.50Families wait in the summer sun on the steamy macadam of the department store parking lot. Program veterans converse with first-timers, assuring them that they can expect a great week. Some carry banners and balloons, some just the countenance of anticipation. One of the lookouts yells, “There’s the bus!”

Here come the kids.

Last year, the Fresh Air Fund sent thousands of underprivileged children from New York’s five boroughs for a summer visit with families in 13 states on the East Coast, including here in central Pennsylvania. Since 1877, 1.8 million children have participated in The Fresh Air Fund programs.

A not-for-profit agency, Fresh Air aims to provide children with “free summer experiences” outside of the city. It accomplishes this through a variety of summer camps in Fishkill, N.Y., and through the volunteer host program. Children, ages six through 12, participate in the host program and re-invited youth can return until age 18.

So Quiet

Hosting provides an opportunity for families to “open up their homes and hearts” to a city child, said Roberta Popp, a 15-year Harrisburg-area participant. Since 1981, Popp and husband Bill have hosted eight children through Fresh Air.

On a warm spring day, outside her rural Lewisberry home, amongst the trees and bird feeders, Popp shared that the program is “about letting the child run free, letting them run barefoot in the grass.” She added that, when families host a child, they “are introducing a child to firsts…to another way of life.”

These firsts include things that those who experience them every day take for granted—seeing the stars at night, feeling the grass tickle the toes and watching squirrels steal seed from the bird feeder.

Other unique events for Fresh Air kids include hearing quiet, seeing darkness and feeling bugs. As one of Popp’s Fresh Air visitors, Alex, would often say, “It’s so quiet here.”

Liz Charleston agrees with Popp’s description. A co-chair of the Etters Friendly Town, the name given to an area where Fresh Air Fund children are hosted, Liz and her family have welcomed eight children over the past 11 years. She described two visitors’ first experience with fireflies. Awestruck by the flashing bugs, the girls asked, “What are all these lights?”

Simple experiences typically fill the children’s visits, events like playing on a swing set, walking the dog or making homemade ice cream. Children often learn to ride a bike or swim while visiting. According to Sherry Sweigard, Sarai—her family’s visitor for three summers—thought playing with bubbles was fabulous.

Many families take Fresh Air youngsters to Hershey Park, Lake Tobias, Harrisburg Senators games or other destinations, but simple pleasures often win out. Sweigard explained that, no matter where they went, Sarai would always ask, “Can we swim when we get back?”

These experiences create relationships between the host families, the children and their families, said Charleston. Families re-invite children at a rate of more than 65 percent, she said.

Many families have ongoing communication with their host child after the summer is over. In November, Popp attended Alex’s New York wedding. The Sweigard family had Sarai visit during Christmas break, meeting her mother in Allentown for the exchange. Some families send Christmas and birthday gifts.

A Yard and a Bed

The children receive much from their visit, but host families receive much, too.

Families that “open up their home and hearts,” as Popp put it, get a glimpse into city life, get an appreciation for what they have and get an introduction to a different culture and lifestyle.

“Our kids don’t think they have anything, then they meet these kids,” said Popp.

The Charleston boys, Carson and Brandon, ages 7 and 9, refer to the girls who visit them in the summer as their “Fresh Air big sisters.” One of those big sisters, Tiffany, inspired by Charleston’s job as a science teacher, has decided to become a math teacher.

Only a few criteria need to be met to host: a yard, a bed and clearances. When a family registers to host, the regional representative will visit the home, meet the family and discuss the program and necessary clearances.

Area Fresh Air volunteers support host families and answer questions, address concerns or guide them through any health issues that may arise. The Fresh Air Fund covers all medical expenses incurred while a child visits.

Charleston said possible host families need not let the “what ifs” keep them from hosting. Fresh Air has local and New York office support available 24 hours a day.

Charleston offers this advice for those wishing to host: “Be flexible and open-minded.” She also advises host families to include as much information as possible about their family activities on the host paperwork to assist Fresh Air in matching a child with overlapping interests. All interests won’t match up exactly, so families can adapt activities for the visiting youngster or find new adventures together.

Popp began her adventure with the Fresh Air Fund 35 years ago. She said that she “believes in this program” and that it’s “a great experience for a city kid.”

Her friends often ask her why she still does the work.

“Because I love seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces when they slip off that bus and see their host families,” she responds.

After a week or so, the voyage across states and cultures must end. Host families pack lunches for the children, and the journey ends where it began—at the bus. More tears end the visit than began it. On the bus, the children, excitedly and sometimes braggingly, share their stories and picture albums. Families drive home without their special visitor, richer for the experience, remembering the week and anticipating next year.

In the end, everyone has benefitted from a little fresh air.

There is still time to host a Fresh Air Child this summer. Contact Roberta Popp, Harrisburg Fresh Air Fund representative, at 717-487-8096 or consult The Fresh Air Fund website at www.freshair.org.

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