NY Kids Arrive to Area for 'Fresh Air'

Media is only about a two and a half hour ride from New York City, but it's also a world away from the concrete canyons and streets of New York for kids from ages six to 16, who are spending nine days visiting families here.

The latest group of Fresh Air students arrived Friday and will be staying with host families all throughout Delaware, Chester and Montgomery counties until July 25. Other Fresh Air kids visited the region at the end of June and more will be arriving in late July and early August.

The Fresh Air Fund dates back to 1877 when the pastor of a church in rural Sherman, PA asked his congregation for volunteers to host summer vacations for kids who lived in the tenements of New York City. Since then the program has grown to serve 10,000 children each summer.

For many families awaiting the bus's arrival at the Shipley school in Bryn Mawr Friday afternoon, this was a reunion. For others, it's a first time opportunity to host children and teens who come from parts of the metro New York area that are very different from the tree-lined suburban streets of Berwyn, Media, Bryn Mawr and neighboring communities in Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties.

Catharine Williams is the fund representative and also chairperson for the Western Main Line. She coordinates all the volunteer families for the region. It's a big job, but one she clearly enjoys.

In addition to the task of coordinating dozens of kids and dozens of host families, she and her family host Lenore Crute. This is their sixth year spending part of the summer with Lenore. Like many host families, the Williams have grown close to their summer visitor.

Williams says Lenore and her 14-year-old daughter talk and text throughout the year. Lenore, who's been spending part of her summers with the Williams family in Starfford since she was eight, clearly felt right at home as she sat in the driver's seat of Williams' car playing with the radio and catching up as her host called ahead to let families waiting in Chester Springs know the bus with their kids was on the way.

Locally about 100 families serve as hosts for the Fresh Air Fund. Anne Umbrecht is the volunteer chair for The Fresh Air Fund of the Main Line. She told Patch there is always a need for volunteer host familes. She knows first hand the rewards that come with being a host family. She and her husband Rick were all smiles Friday afternoon as they welcomed Diamond Henry for her visit with their familiy

To learn how you can get involved and/or host a child, visit the The Fresh Air Fund of the Main Line website. You can read an in-depth history of the Fresh Air Fund here.