Niagara residents hosting NYC kids for summer
Niagara and Haldimand residents have opened their homes to 140 kids from New York City during the summer months.
The initiative is a part of a program called the Fresh Air Fund, which gives underprivileged kids from New York the opportunity to spend a week to a month with a host family in Niagara and other cities in Canada and the United States.
The goal is to give these kids, aged seven to 18, a chance to experience different things that they might not have the chance to at home.
St. Catharines resident Jen St. Onge has been involved with the program for five years. She said she’s hosted a few children, but a teen named Larissa Lopez has become a staple for her family’s summer.
Lopez is a 14-year-old from the New York City borough Queens, and St. Onge said it’s always exciting when her family goes to pick her up, just like they did on Friday evening. She and her two daughters Abigail, 7, and Audrey, who will be 5 this Friday, were at the Port Colborne Brethren in Christ Church stop, making signs and playing games until the bus arrived.
The kids come in by bus each year with volunteers from the program, and the bus is packed full of movies for the eight-hour trip. St. Onge picked up Lopez from the stop and brought her home for a three-week stay.
“She’s come a long way,” St. Onge said of the different things Lopez has gotten to try and to learn over the years.
In particular, she said Lopez enjoys swimming; as soon as she comes she asks if she can jump in the pool at the St. Onge home. When she first came though, she didn’t even know how to swim, but has since learned and become a good swimmer.
St. Onge said during her stay, the family does many outdoor activities. In past years, they’ve gone camping, hiking, boating and swimming. They’ve also made a trip to Canada’s Wonderland and this year they’re heading to the family cottage.
“There’s just different experience that we’re able to give them that they otherwise probably wouldn’t have the opportunity to do,” St. Onge explained, noting that some kids in the program have never even stepped in grass.
St. Onge said this year is a bit of a treat for Lopez because her younger sister Nathalie is also able to participate in the program. Nathalie, 7, is staying with St. Onge’s cousin, Emily Hastings-Speck, and her family, who live in Mississauga.
It’s the first time Hastings-Speck has hosted a child, and she said on Friday that she’s excited for the experience. She’ll be going to the cottage with her husband and two daughters and is looking forward to swimming.
She said she wanted to participate in the Fresh Air Fund Fund because she’s a teacher to kids just like the ones in the program, so she sees what they go through and knows what kind of difference can be made in their lives.
Fellow teacher Trisha Plant, from Etobicoke, took part because of Hastings-Speck and feels much the same way. She said she wants to provide these kids with a chance to experience something new and she said her two sons, Theo, 5, and Zack, 6, are excited, too.
“They’re super excited to share things that they like doing,” she said, proceeding to list off activities such as camping and biking.
The child coming to her home is a seven-year-old named David.
St. Onge encourages others to get involved with the program because of the difference it can make in the lives of everyone involved. She said she’ll be participating for many years to come and hopes her children take part in hosting a child one day, too.
More information about the Fresh Air Fund and how to get involved is available at freshair.org.