67°
STAMFORD, Conn. Many kids hit the beach or the Stamford Museum & Nature Center during the summer in Stamford. But they can be shocking and scary places for a kid from the inner-city of New York.
He had never seen a farm animal like that, Regan Allen said of Ruben, the 10-year-old boy her family has taken in for the past three years as part of the Fresh Air Funds host family program. She described how he clung to her when they saw cows at the nature center and how he did not want to get off his towel the first time they went to the beach.
The host family program allows kids from low-income neighborhoods in New York City to make summer visits to places along the East Coast from Virginia up to Maine and Canada. Since 1877, the program has given 1.7 million kids the opportunity to leave the city for rural and suburban communities in the hot summer months.
When Allen was a kid, her family hosted a child at their home outside of Hartford. She remembers the culture shock for herself and for the girl to learn how other people live. With her husband, James Fleischer, she was hoping to provide their four kids with the same experience, despite the diversity of the schools in Stamford.
Her kids were not as open to the idea of having Ruben come for a couple of weeks during the summer, worried he would play with certain toys. But that changed after they got to know Ruben and played with him. Now as they prepare for their fourth summer together, the boys want to go to the Mystic Aquarium and teach him how to play manhunt with the rest of the kids in their neighborhood, Allen said.
Ruben has also benefited by getting to know the Fleischers. He is becoming less shy and more confident. They have helped Ruben learn to swim and taught him more about the world as they pick fruit, go to amusement parks and visit other attractions.
Its making one extra breakfast a day, Allen said of how easy it is to participate in the Fresh Air Fund program.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Stamford and receive free news updates.
