NYC Kids Come to Westchester for Some “Fresh Air”

It may not be as picturesque as the Catskills or Pocono Mountains, but homes in Rye, Yorktown, Mount Kisco, North Salem and other towns will serve as a breath of fresh air for kids from New York City.

The Fresh Air Fund bus made its way into Westchester, stopping at Rye High School on Friday afternoon, carrying kids from all five boroughs out of the noisy, congested streets of the largest metropolis on earth and into suburban, and in some cases rural, Westchester neighborhoods.

Many of the host families have participated in the organization in the past. After a year, Al Jones of Southbury, CT is happy to have his daughter Kayla’s friend Rhianna from Crown Heights back at their family home.

“They are the same age so they enjoyed emailing one another, exchanging Christmas presents and just being 11-year-old girls together,” said Jones as he rattled off a list of activities for the week.

Those activities included camping out in the backyard, using the telescope to view the night sky and swimming in the family pool.

Ilene Goodman helps coordinate host families for the Fresh Air Fund by interviewing potential candidate families and doing home visits to see what kind of domestic situation exists. She was on hand for the afternoon arrival of this group of Fresh Air Fund kids in the Golden Bridge Shopping Center.

"The thing that these kids seem to enjoy doing most is taking advantage of their new surroundings,” Goodman said. "They can always go to a mall or a movie back home but to bike ride, and do other things in a different neighborhood is such a great experience for these kids.”

Parents and children waited eagerly for the bus to arrive; balloons could be seen in some of the cars; some families made welcome signs; others brought the family dog: all in an effort to make their guest, if only for 10 days, feel as if they are a part of the family.

“Jason’s bag was packed a week ago so I think he is definitely excited to be coming,” laughed Jill Duggan of Yorktown, as her 7-year-old son Dominick paced around the parking lot, eagerly awaiting the arrival of his new friend Jason who lives in the South Bronx.

"Dominick’s friends from the neighborhood are even excited and looking forward to meeting his new friend so it should be a very fun 10-day sleepover!” Duggan said.

Some of the kids from NYC are doing more than relaxing all week: many have learned valuable lessons whether it is lessons about the outdoors or how to swim.

North Salem resident Andy Stobin watched last year as he hosted a 9-year-old girl named Jordan from Brooklyn go from not knowing how to swim to “becoming a fish,” he said.

This summer he is planning a trip up to Saratoga Springs with Jordan and his daughter Isabel to visit family and let their long-distance friendship flourish.

The Fresh Air Fund has provided summertime experiences for more than 1.7 million children in its 135 years in New York, all free of charge to the families that are chosen. Each summer, thousands of New York City children from low-income neighborhoods visit volunteer host families in 13 Northeastern states and Canada.