Redding Residents Celebrate Fresh Air

(Editor's note: The following is a press release sent by Lauren Maio of the Fresh Air Fund.)

On Friday, March 22, Fresh Air Fund volunteer leaders and hosts celebrated Fresh Air Fund Day with a milkshake party at the Redding Ridge Market & Deli in Redding. Families enjoyed free milkshakes as Fresh Air hosts shared their experiences hosting New York City children with prospective families. 

Families who participate in The Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Host Family Program open their hearts and homes to New York City children for one or two weeks or more in the summer. Volunteers simply want to share what they have with city children and introduce them to the joys of suburban or country life.

“I knew you were a special organization when I started hosting but you are truly an amazing and inspirational group, which uplifts the spirit and shows others what is really important in life," one host said.

Families find hosting so rewarding that more than 65 percent of all Fresh Air children are reinvited to visit the same host families year after year. First-time Fresh Air visitors are six to 12 years old and Fresh Air hosts range from young families to grandparents. All it takes is the willingness to welcome a New York City child to your community.

The Fresh Air Fund, an independent, not-for-profit organization, has provided free summer experiences to more than 1.7 million inner-city children since 1877. For more information about becoming a Fresh Air volunteer host, please call Lestina Trainor at 203.938.7945 or The Fresh Air Fund at 800.367.0003. Visit The Fresh Air Fund online at www.freshair.org.