“It's simple.  It's easy.  You'll be amazed how quickly you can fall in love with these children,” says Jennifer Kreutz-Casto, of Lancaster, NY, whose family has been hosting through The Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Host Family Program since 2010. “We have changed and gained more from these kids than I could have imagined. Just the sight of all my children – Fresh Air kids included – playing and laughing like they've known each other forever...

“David, my stepson Dalton and I waited until Valesan arrived to cut down our Christmas tree this year,” says Jayne Cahill, of Woolwich, ME. Jayne and David Cahill have been opening their hearts and home to 14-year-old Valesan since 2007 through The Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Host Family Program. On Saturday, December 22nd, 2012, Jayne, David, Dalton and Valesan went to Green Acre Christmas Tree Farm in Edgecome.

We were thrilled to find out that Brandon Mendoza, a former Fresh Air child, and Jacinta Mendoza celebrated their wedding on October 20th, 2012 with their friends and family, including Brandon’s Fresh Air host family, the McKnights. Kandy and Robert McKnight, of Falmouth, MA, first opened their hearts and home to Brandon in 1993, a tradition that lasted through The Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Host Family Program until 1999 but hasn’t wavered since. When Brandon was five-years-old, he was living i...