It’s Fresh Air Fall: Learn About our School-Year Programs!

The weather is beginning to cool, NYC children have started a new school year that looks very different, and children are adjusting to remote learning and hybrid schedules. The Fresh Air Fund is supporting students and their families as they adapt to new work and school schedules and encounter economic uncertainty and new challenges with the start of the school year.

In April, after schools closed, our year-round tutoring, mentoring and leadership programs successfully went virtual and provided students with academic and emotional support as they navigated adapting to what school looked like with days full of Zoom and Google Classroom.

“I received a lot of positive feedback from families saying, ‘Thank you so much for doing this. My child was so happy.’ Our students and families have appreciated the consistency of continuing after-school programs and that our staff very quickly pivoted to online platforms. “You can see how much the kids like tutoring and they’re really engaged,” says Tutoring & High School Placement Coordinator, Kayla Paulino. 

This fall, Fresh Air students in The Fresh Air Fund’s Year-Round Academic Enrichment and Leadership Programs – the Career Awareness Program (CAP), College Connections Program (CCP) and our Young Women’s Giving Circle (YWGC) are participating in virtual programs.  

Our team has worked hard to ensure that our virtual programs are exciting for students. We’ve introduced a new career workshops series and book clubs, providing opportunities for students to connect virtually with their peers, our staff, and volunteer tutors and mentors. 

“We wanted to develop opportunities where our campers can reconnect with their peers and our staff while having fun and learning. We will be meeting monthly with each Career Awareness Program cohort, holding monthly book clubs and an array of fascinating job shadowings. We are excited to get started with these new and revamped program ideas,” Deputy Director of Camping & Year Round Programs, Roberto Gil, said.  

“This year is different for me. I decided to take online and remote classes because my school changed locations and it would have been a long commute. I’m also excited for the College Connections Program because it is my last year and even though I hoped to have it in-person, I’m glad to still be part of it,” said 16-year-old CCP participant, Titus.

Resources are available for families on our website, including our activity library highlighting some of the most popular activities from our summer virtual camp, Fresh Air Everywhere and the Resource Page with information on accessing food, health care, education and more.  

Although this school year looks very different for NYC children, The Fresh Air Fund is committed to providing students ongoing support and providing safe spaces and opportunities to stay connected – which is only possible with the generosity and support of our donors, tutors, mentors, partners, and staff. We are so grateful for our entire Fresh Air family.

Learn more about volunteer opportunities.