03 Mar Fresh-Air Fund
The Fresh Air Fund, an independent not-for-profit organization, was created with one simple mission – to allow children living in low-income communities to enjoy free summer experiences in the country.
When The Fresh Air Fund began, New York City was overflowing with children living in crowded tenements. Many of these youngsters were hit by a tuberculosis epidemic, and “fresh air” was considered a cure for respiratory ailments. More than 140 years ago, the Reverend Willard Parsons, a minister of a small, rural parish in Sherman, Pennsylvania, asked members of his congregation to provide country vacations as volunteer host families for New York City’s neediest children. This was the beginning of The Fresh Air Fund. The Fresh Air Fund’s tradition of caring provides children with a much-needed respite from the city streets. Thousands of youngsters enjoy summer experiences with volunteer hosts or attend one of five Fresh Air Fund camps in upstate New York.
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