The Connection

At 11, Rickay Martin of Queens has already done Washington, D.C. With her host family, the Thompsons of Springfield, she’s visited The Spy Museum, The White House, George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

Now when she comes to visit each summer for ten days, she prefers to spend down time with the Thompsons: going to the Hunt Valley pool, shopping, baking.

Vanilla cupcakes from the box are her favorite.

“I like feeling like part of the family,” Martin said.

As one of nine children back in Queens, the living space can be a bit cramped. This summer, her sixth coming to visit the Thompsons, she’ll get to stay in her own room.

“We adore her,” said the Thompsons’ mother Karen. “In my mind she’s still six years old, starting swim lessons... we taught her to ride a bike. She goes everywhere with us.”

Martin and the Thompsons are participating in a program run by the Fresh Air Fund, a nonprofit that provides free summer experiences and year-round academic opportunities for children in challenging living situations in the five boroughs of New York City.

DATING BACK to its founding in 1877 the program has served more than 1.8 million children. They’re selected based on financial need and registered with social service and community organizations in New York City.

These Fresh Air boys and girls spend seven to ten days with host families in more than 300 communities on the east coast and in southern Canada over the summer.

In northern Virginia, there are three separate sessions, according to co-chair for the area Felicia Caulk of South Riding. Caulk’s family has been hosting children through Fresh Air for four years.

“We try to have family gatherings,” she said, “so we all see each other every year.”

Caulk said the 16 families in the region that host children over the course of the summer are cultivating the concept of northern Virginia being a “Friendly Town.”

A tour bus with about 20 children bound for families around northern Virginia arrived at the Container Store parking lot in Tysons on Wednesday July 13.

Host families were waiting with balloons and eager siblings, some around the same ages as the Fresh Air boys and girls.

Sarah Olson of Mount Vernon was once one of those host sisters. As a child, her family also welcomed in a child that was her brother’s age.

She said the experience was a positive, learning one for the whole family, “teaching us to be appreciative for the things we have.”

“The biggest thing is to be empathetic, open-minded,” Olson continued. “Consider that everyone has different things going on and to respect them for who they are.”

Olson and her husband Mike have four children of their own, and have hosted someone from Fresh Air for four years. Their current visitor Victoria “Vicky” Rodriguez from the Bronx is spending her second summer with the family.

“She’s a great young lady,” Olson said. “She gets along great with my family, it’s like having an extra daughter, she fits right in and is so eager, so excited just about every little thing.”

Olson said they go to the farmer’s market every week and Rodriguez is able to pick out things she wants to eat.

“It’s an opportunity to experience things they don’t do at home, necessarily,” said Olson. “To expose them to life outside the city.”

Rodriquez also wasn’t familiar with the concept of a backyard, a park she could play in at any time.

“Catching lightning bugs,” Olson said, “she had never seen them before.”

Both Thompson and Olson said their Fresh Air daughters were homesick initially, but they’ve kept in constant contact with their mothers in New York.

“Her mom is amazing,” Olson said. “She calls every day. I send her pictures every day, something we’re doing. It’s tough, to send your 6-year-old away. It takes a lot of trust, faith in the program.”

FAMILIES who are interested in becoming hosts, or to find out more information about the program, can call The Fresh Air Fund at 800-367-0003 or visit www.freshair.org.