Celebrating Special Memories from 2022 

Members of our Fresh Air family had so many favorite moments this year from catching our first fish, host families reuniting, campers learning how to swim and even volunteers completing a marathon for fundraising!  

Before we step into the new year, we want to reflect on some of the most memorable Fresh Air moments in 2022!  

January: CAP Job shadowing Highlight 

Morgan Stanley, in partnership with New York Cares, hosted a job shadowing with a panel from their internal audit department. Volunteers spoke to Fresh Air teens about how they started their careers in finance including background on their education, internship and other professional experiences. Our teens could relate to the volunteers as many shared that they were either immigrants or first-generation Americans — and spoke about their path to college and the opportunities that led them to a career in finance. 

February: Meet Friendly Towns Alumni! 

We were thrilled to have our annual Friendly Towns conference back in-person where volunteers participated in training and workshops – and they also had some time to enjoy NYC! A favorite part of the weekend was inspiring speeches from four incredible Fresh Air alums.  

March: Celebrating Women’s History  

To celebrate Womens History Month, we asked our Fresh Air Family to share their SHEro! A SHEro can be a mentor, a mother, a sister, a friend, a public figure, or someone we admire and inspires us! 

April: The Fresh Air Fund Announces Lisa Gitelson as its New Chief Executive Officer 

“Our city is stronger when each of our children and their families are stronger. I am honored and excited to lead an organization with a rich history of providing children with transformative experiences which open worlds of possibility to them. I look forward to working with The Fund’s dedicated staff and partnering with our families and communities to continue strengthening the children of our city,” said Lisa Gitelson, Chief Executive Officer, The Fresh Air Fund. 

Read more about The Fund’s CEO, Lisa Gitelson. 

May: The Fresh Air Fund’s Spring Benefit 

We had so much fun celebrating the power of fun at this year’s Spring Benefit! A special thank you to Fresh Air Fund alum and host @TracyMorgan for sharing his memories of camp and words of encouragement for Fresh Air kids, and to this year’s honoree @MorganStanley for their longtime support and volunteer engagement.

June: Congratulations to the CCP Graduates!  

CCP graduate, Susan, began attending Emory University in the Fall. Read more about CCP and check out CCP’s full list of college acceptances! 

July: Celebrating the Joy of Summer 

At The Fresh Air Fund, summer is a very special time of the year! We were excited to bring back the Friendly Towns and Camping programs and continue programs started during the pandemic including Summer Spaces, Summer Teen Academy and Family Wellness!  

August: Tap Into Sisterhood 

The Girls Empowerment Series is a 4-week summer virtual mentoring group for 13 to 17-year-old girls which features guest speakers who share their personal and professional journeys. The Fresh Air Fund in partnership with the Chloe and Maud Foundation and the Steward Family Foundation, created a Tap into Sisterhood event to celebrate fostering community, confidence and bravery through dance. 

September: Read-a-loud with Misty Copeland

We had lots of fun at our first Fresh Air book club meeting! Misty Copeland joined us for a read-a-loud of her new book and a Q&A! Bunheads tells the story of young Misty, who discovers her love of dance through the ballet Coppélia- a story about a toymaker who devises a villainous plan to bring a doll to life. Our campers were so excited and had great questions for Misty. 

October: 2022 NSLA Summer Learning Award Winner 

We joined the National Summer Learning Association at innovation hall in Washington, DC at their National Conference #SummerChangesEverything along with dozens of inspirational out-of-school time leaders, news network moderators, policy influencers, artists and authors. We were honored to be recognized as a 2022 Summer Learning Award Winner.   

November: Crossing the Finish Line 

Congratulations to everyone who ran the TCS New York City Marathon, and a special Fresh Air thank you to the athletes who ran for The Fresh Air Fund! We are so proud of you! 

December: A visit to Google!

As part of The Fund’s Career Awareness Program (CAP), students visited and toured Google’s Headquarters! Students learned about different jobs available at Google and even met Googlers who shared their career journeys! 

2022 was memorable – filled with new experiences, incredible partnerships and so much fun! Even though it is January, we are already counting down to Fresh Air Summer 2023!