Former Fresh Air Stories

For thousands of New York City children, The Fresh Air Fund’s Friendly Town program opens doors to new experiences and gives them the chance to be children and make new friends. Former Fresh Air children who are now adults often credit the Friendly Town program for making a lasting impact on their lives. Decades after their Fresh Air experience, Fresh Air memories and host families remain cherished parts of their lives.

We asked former Fresh Air children to reflect on their Fresh Air stories. Read on to see why Fresh Air experiences can be truly unforgettable.

Lee Coleman

"It is such a blessing that two families who probably would have never met otherwise, were brought together in such a prosperous fashion," says Lee Coleman about his Fresh Air experience...

Learn More

Tina Crayton

What happens when you take a young girl from the Bronx and send her to live on a farm in Berwick, PA for a week? According to Tina Crayton, escaping the city gave her the opportunity to grow as an individual...

Learn More

Gil Sanchez

July 21, 2009 marked Gil Sanchez's 40-year relationship with his Fresh Air Fund host family, the Skoniecnys, from Litchfield, Connecticut...

Learn More

Harriet Liss

Harriet Liss grew up in a disadvantaged neighborhood of Brooklyn in the midst of the Great Depression. In 1932, when she was seven years old, she boarded a train from Grand Central Station to spend two weeks on a farm in upstate New York...

Learn More

Frankie "El Gato" Figueroa Jr.

Frankie “El Gato” Figueroa Jr., a Bronx-born boxing champion, has stayed close to his Fresh Air Fund host family for twenty-four years...

Learn More

Karla Benion

“Going to Martha’s Vineyard with all the open space and the beach took a little getting used to, but once we got used to it we loved every minute of it,” said Karla Benion...

Learn More