The Fresh Air fund is seeking families from St. Lawrence County and elsewhere to take in children for their summer program

Each summer, thousands of children from New York City’s low-income communities visit suburban, rural and small town communities along the east coast and southern Canada through The Fresh Air Fund’s Friendly Towns Program.

“My first year hosting, I was so nervous and my boys kept saying it would be great. And then by the end, I was in tears. That moment I realized what a special program Friendly Towns is and how impactful it is to our lives and theirs,” Kim Carrico says. “We go to Adventureland with other Fresh Air families, to the pool and keep in touch during the year.

The Fresh Air Fund, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer experiences to more than 1.8 million New York City children from low-income communities since 1877. First time Fresh Air children are boys and girls, from seven to 13 years old, who live in New York City.

Children who are reinvited by host families may continue with The Fresh Air Fund through age 18 and can enjoy extended trips.

For more information about hosting a Fresh Air child this summer, contact Earline LaFleur at 315-528-2700 or visit www.FreshAir.org.