FRESH AIR. . . NOT THE TERRY GROSS PROGRAM

Tiffany stayed with my family for two weeks one summer back when I was about 11. She was my age, from New York City, and loved Tupac (she swore that A. he was still alive and B. was her future husband). During the course of the two weeks we all spent excessive amounts of time hiking, biking, swimming and partaking in loads of other Vermont-y activities. Tiffany wasn't my cousin, nor was she the child of my mom's college roommate . . . she was part of the Fresh Air program.

I'm sure there were many reasons why my parents decided to host Tiffany. They knew that my sister and I were able to spend our summers outside in nature and wanted us to be able to share that with someone whose summer might otherwise be a tar beach. Anyway, Tiffany was awesome (we were pen pals for a long time after, i always made sure to send magazine clippings about Tupac) and we both had loads of fun.

I'm writing this because The Fresh Air Fund is in need of host families for kids like Tiffany. The kids are ages 6-12 and stay for either one or two weeks. . . If your family, or anyone else you know, is interested in hosting a Fresh Air kid click HEREor call (800) 367-0003. The Fresh Air Fund children visit families in the 13 Northeastern states and Canada. For more information on the program check out http://freshairfundhost.org/

Even if you can't host a kid you can always donate some $$$ HERE !!