Ridgefield Host Family Celebrates Fresh Air Success Story

From The Fresh Air Fund:

Local Ridgefield residents, Laura Craighead and Paul Reich are very proud of their Fresh Air child Shawnelle’s college achievements. Shawnelle is currently a freshman at Texas Southern University where he made the Dean’s List his first semester! Shawnelle has been visiting Laura and Paul every summer since he was seven years old. Laura and Paul are extremely proud of Shawnelle and all that he has accomplished.

Fresh Air summers are filled with children running barefoot through the grass, gazing at star-filled skies or swimming for the first time. Each summer, close 4,000 Fresh Air children visit suburban, rural and small town communities along the East Coast and Southern Canada through The Fresh Air Fund’s Friendly Towns Program. Fresh Air children are boys and girls, from seven to 18 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.

Since 1877, The Fresh Air Fund, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free, enriching summer experiences and academic programs for more than 1.8 million New York City children from low-income neighborhoods. For more information about hosting a Fresh Air child this summer, please contact Ann O'Brien at 847-345-4121 or visit The Fresh Air Fund online at www.freshair.org.

Photo credit: Jerry Speier