FRESH AIR FUND

Hi everyone!  

It's been a long while since I've posted on the To Loosen the Mind site. Not to worry, though. I'll be back up to my regularly scheduled blogging once the academic year comes by again.

In the meantime, while we are in summer mode, I encourage you to check out this site for The Fresh Air Fund. When I was teaching on Long Island, a young boy introduced me to the Fresh Air Fund -- he was a Black student who was attending the very wealthy, prestigious, and privileged school where I taught. Each day, he would dress up in his collared shirt, tie, and khaki pants and attend school. But, we would spend much of his free period talking about how he didn't really fit in. He was really struggling.

One of the few times I saw him genuinely happy was when he'd talk about his summers in Maine. He was part of the Fresh Air Fund and escaped the city, the stress of his home life, and the temptations of hanging out with kids on the street by spending his summers with a generous family in Maine who opened his doors to him.

After a year, the student ended up leaving the school, his home, and the stress and it was his host family that took him in. I'm sure that changed his life.

If you are interested in and able to be a part of this tranformative program, please check out the Fresh Air Fund site. You can help create a better experience for a young person in need -- right here in our own neighborhoods.

http://freshairfundhost.org/

Peace,

Liza