Do you ever notice how many stars are out on a summer night?
A lot of kids who travel to the Capital District from New York City through the Fresh Air Fund every summer do. They rarely have the luxury of seeing them Downstate.
“In New York City, it’s never dark, so kids have never seen stars. It sounds sort of basic but…,” said Fresh Air Fund’s Executive Director, Jenny Morgenthau.
Since 1877, the Fresh Air Fund’s Friendly Town Program has been giving children ages 8 to 18 the chance to get away from their urban surroundings. Every year, they pair thousands of children from disadvantaged communities in the five boroughs to host families in 13 states and parts of Canada.
The nearby Capital District remains one of the most popular locations for hosting. There is no cost to the child or the host family for participating.
Up to 3,000 kids from the city also have the opportunity to stay at camps located in Fishkill. Even so, there are never enough hosts to accommodate all the roughly 4,100 kids who would like some time away from the city.
The fund is still seeking host families for the remainder of this summer. Families can host one or two-week time periods from late June through mid-August. According to Morgenthau, around two-thirds of the kids who visit are invited back to the same family.
“It’s a very special program, and people get very attached,” said Morgenthau.
Brian and JoAnn Sterner of Saratoga Springs will be hosting Randy, who is from the Bronx, for the second time this summer.
“I was drawn to the simplicity of opening your heart and home,” JoAnn Sterner said. “As much as we are offering the city kids an opportunity, they have so much to offer to our families as well. Randy taught us how to appreciate the little things in life. We turned off the computer and enjoyed the outdoors.”
The process of hosting begins with an interview with the host family and an area coordinator. In Saratoga County, that somebody is Patty LeRoy.
“I tell people they’re just like our kids, but from different locations,” said LeRoy, who has been hosting children since 1967.
She encourages children of the host family to take part in the interview. That way she can get to know the whole family a little better and help make good matches. She added if any issues do arise during the summer, help from the fund is a phone call away.
LeRoy still keeps in touch with one of the children her family hosted, Jerry Bobe. He’s 39 now and still visits the family from time to time.
“I remember what a sweet little boy he was. When he visits now, one of his favorite things to do is to have barbeques and sit out on the deck,” she said. She also said that Bobe and members of the family have shared conversations “about life” into the early morning hours in recent years.
LeRoy’s daughter Tricia Barkman has fond memories of hosting kids while she was growing up and can’t remember a time when they didn’t host at least one child every summer. She is now the Schenectady area coordinator for the Fresh Air Fund.
Barkman advised host families to “have rules and enjoy the whole process.”
After a match is made and background checks of the host families are completed, contact by phone is made between the host family and the child’s family.
“Have fun and think of the parents,” said Barkman. Often times the children come from single-family homes and live in less than desirable parts of the city.
Morgenthau said the greatest need is for finding host families for children from 9 to 12, particularly boys.
“Everybody always asks for a little girl,” she said.
As far as activities go, she said swimming remains a favorite and as well as “making new friends.”
“This is real basic stuff. One of the things we emphasize with the host families is to do things you normally do with their own children. From playing in the backyard to baseball, regular activities are a big deal,” said Morgenthau.
By far, one of the top activities is to just sit and look at the stars at night.
“The kids are always amazed at the stars,” she said.
For more information on The Fresh Air Fund, visit freshair.org. For information on hosting a child in Saratoga County, call Patty LeRoy at 885-9505.
