During the summer months, New York City is one of the hottest, smoggiest spots in the Northeast. For kids living in some of the city’s toughest neighborhoods, there’s a not-for-profit organization called the Fresh Air Fund, which provides free summer vacations for kids in rural and suburban communities and at their five Upstate New York summer camps.
I always look forward to it I go, ‘Oh! I can’t wait until I go Upstate,’` says Enrique Cruz, a 10th grader from the Bronx, who is one of millions of kids who have participated in the Fresh Air fund.
He’s been spending time in Niskayuna with the Citriniti family (Jacqueline, her husband, Tom, and their son, Luke) for the past five summers.
Host families and Fresh Air Fund children sometimes lead widely divergent lifestyles, and their shared process of adjustment isn’t always easy.
`We were told that the kids aren’t used to going to bed really early. They go to bed late and get up late,` says Jacqueline Citriniti, Cruz’s host mother. She was informed during a lengthy interview process by the Fresh Air Fund (they go to the prospective family’s home to make sure they’ll be a good match) that there would be differences between her family’s habits and Enrique’s, and that it would take a little while for them to get used to each other.
`Physical activity is a big issue, their sleep cycles are different, what they [Luke and Enrique] eat is different. … It was tough and is still tough,` Citriniti says.
Each summer the Citrinitis try to expose Enrique to things he wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to at home in the Bronx.
` They showed me to a lot of great things that I hadn’t learned,` says Cruz.
Luke Citriniti, who is going to be a senior in high school next year, emphasized the importance of going to college and getting a good education.
`I want to go to college and my friends, Jackie and the family, are helping me,` says Cruz.
The Citrinitis are happy to encourage Cruz.
`He said, ‘I want to live up here where there are no sidewalks and nice houses,’ and I said, ‘Well, you have go to school first,’` says Citriniti.
This summer Cruz and the Citrinitis also had a visit with District Attorney Francisco Calderon, a former Fresh Air Fund participant.
Enrique had expressed interest in becoming a lawyer.
`I talked to him about all the different opportunities that are available to him,` says Calderon. He also spoke of his own experiences with the Fresh Air program.
`I was very fortunate to have a really great family take me in they were absolutely wonderful,` says Calderon. `They opened their home and gave me an opportunity to experience things that I would otherwise not have had the opportunity to do.`
Calderon fondly remembered his Upstate experience.
`They took me camping, I went swimming, I went to the lake, I participated in local baseball leagues. They had a lot of property, so it gave me opportunity to run around. I had my summer brother ` I had someone there who was my age. We were able to play all day,` says Calderon.
It also gives kids the opportunity to have a few days or a few weeks without all of the pressures of home.
In Enrique’s home in the Bronx, he lives with his grandmother, two older siblings, and two younger siblings. This past summer he had to take on more responsibility than most average 15 year olds. For example, he had to get up at 5 a.m. every day to bring his sister to a train to go to a school for gifted children.
`This time at least he said, ‘I’m really tired of everybody relying on me,’` says Citriniti.
When Cruz and the thousands of other children who participate in the Fresh Air Fund visit their host families or go to one of the five summer camps during the warmer months, they’re able to truly take in everything that summer has to offer, from swimming and hiking to site-seeing ` they get a real opportunity to see what lies outside of New York City. Kids are able to relax and enjoy themselves, ranging from periods of one week to an entire summer.
For more information on The Fresh Air Fund, to make a donation, volunteer or become a host, visit their Web site at www.freshair.org, or call (800) 367-0003.
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