Everyone can remember a simpler time when fun was going outside running around trying to catch fireflies or going for a walk after dinner. For Deborah Zelko these memories have become a reality again. Last summer Deborah signed up for The Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Family Host Program and is now welcoming back Jazzy (12) for a second summer to share her favorite parts of childhood. “It was so strange, I remembered perfectly what it was like to be 11 years-old again.”
The Fresh Air Fund is an independent, not-for-profit agency that has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Each summer, over 4,000 children visit volunteer host families in rural, suburban and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada.
Moving to a new community in Saugerties, Deborah found herself wanting to share all the summertime activities her town offered, especially with a child from the city. When Jazzy first arrived, she told Deborah that her brother had ridden a horse with his host family and she had always wanted try it herself. Hearing this Deborah knew this was something that she wanted to share with Jazzy. “Just to see her on the horse for the first time with such a big smile, made me smile.”
Deborah had volunteered with children, but was concerned she would plan too much to do for the week she would be visiting. She says, “Once she was in front of me and we paid attention to each other, we found things to do.” The two would cook dinner, made their own pottery, and take walks in the evening. “Jazzy is the oldest child at home so her being here alone I think was good for her. It was the first time she had to think of things she wanted to do.” The summer duo will be reunited in August to laugh over board games and run barefoot in the grass.
The Fresh Air Fund, an independent, not-for-profit agency, is always seeking host families to enable as many New York City children as possible to benefit from a summer experience outside of the city. To learn more about how to become a host family in Saugerties, please contact Yvette Rogers, the local volunteer leader for the Saugerties area, at 845-835-8100 or visit The Fresh Air Fund online at www.freshair.org.
Everyone can remember a simpler time when fun was going outside running around trying to catch fireflies or going for a walk after dinner. For Deborah Zelko these memories have become a reality again. Last summer Deborah signed up for The Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Family Host Program and is now welcoming back Jazzy (12) for a second summer to share her favorite parts of childhood. “It was so strange, I remembered perfectly what it was like to be 11 years-old again.”
The Fresh Air Fund is an independent, not-for-profit agency that has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. Each summer, over 4,000 children visit volunteer host families in rural, suburban and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada.
Moving to a new community in Saugerties, Deborah found herself wanting to share all the summertime activities her town offered, especially with a child from the city. When Jazzy first arrived, she told Deborah that her brother had ridden a horse with his host family and she had always wanted try it herself. Hearing this Deborah knew this was something that she wanted to share with Jazzy. “Just to see her on the horse for the first time with such a big smile, made me smile.”
Deborah had volunteered with children, but was concerned she would plan too much to do for the week she would be visiting. She says, “Once she was in front of me and we paid attention to each other, we found things to do.” The two would cook dinner, made their own pottery, and take walks in the evening. “Jazzy is the oldest child at home so her being here alone I think was good for her. It was the first time she had to think of things she wanted to do.” The summer duo will be reunited in August to laugh over board games and run barefoot in the grass.
The Fresh Air Fund, an independent, not-for-profit agency, is always seeking host families to enable as many New York City children as possible to benefit from a summer experience outside of the city. To learn more about how to become a host family in Saugerties, please contact Yvette Rogers, the local volunteer leader for the Saugerties area, at 845-835-8100 or visit The Fresh Air Fund online at www.freshair.org.
