Sue Scheff: Help Support Fresh Air Fund – Giving Needy Children a Summer of Fun
by Sue Scheff on Jun 23, 2010
As a guest post, Fresh Air Fund has asked me to help them promote their need for Host Families. The Fresh Air Fund is in need of host families for this summer. Host families are volunteers who open their hearts and home to a child from the city to give them a Fresh Air experience that can change lives.
Your gift of $24 becomes $48, good for TWO round-trip bus tickets from NYC to camp.
Make a gift before June 30th – and two inner-city childrens lives will be changed forever!
The Countdown to Summer 2010 is on and The Fresh Air Fund is in need of host families. If you or someone you know is able to host, please sign up now.
In 2009, The Fresh Air Fund‘s Volunteer Host Family program, called Friendly Town, gave close to 5,000 New York City boys and girls, ages six to 18, free summer experiences in the country and the suburbs. Volunteer host families shared their friendship and homes FOR up to two weeks or more in 13 Northeastern states from Virginia to Maine and Canada.
The Fresh Air Fund relies on donations to provide memorable summers to NYC children.
The Fresh Air Fund needs hosts for the summer of 2010.
More than 65% of all Fresh Air children are reinvited to stay with their host family, year after year.
Thanks to host families who open up their homes for a few weeks each summer, children growing up in New York City’s toughest neighborhoods have experienced the joys of Fresh Air experiences.
“It is rewarding to see the smile on our Fresh Air child’s face as she enjoys the simple things we take for granted…”
Friendly Town host families are volunteers who live in the suburbs or small town communities. Host families range in size, ethnicity and background, but share the desire to open their hearts and homes to give city children an experience they will never forget. Hosts say the Fresh Air experience is as enriching for their own families, as it is for the inner-city children. There are no financial requirements for hosting a child.It should be Volunteers may request the age-group and gender of the Fresh Air youngster they would like to host for up to two weeks. Stories about real Fresh Air host families and their New York City visitors are just a click away!
Click here to learn more about becoming a host or call (800) 367-0003!
Fresh Air children are boys and girls, six to 18 years old, who live in New York City. Children on first-time visits are six to 12 years old and stay for either one or two weeks. Youngsters who are re-invited by the same family may continue with The Fund through age 18, and many enjoy longer summertime visits, year after year. A visit to the home of a warm and loving volunteer host family can make all the difference in the world to an inner-city child. All it takes to create lifelong memories is laughing in the sunshine and making new friends.
The majority of Fresh Air children are from low-income communities. These are often families without the resources to send their children on summer vacations. Most inner-city youngsters grow up in towering apartment buildings without large, open outdoor play spaces. Concrete playgrounds cannot replace the freedom of running barefoot through the grass or riding bikes down country lanes.
Fresh Air children are registered by more than 90 participating social service and community organizations located in disadvantaged neighborhoods in the five boroughs of New York City. These community-based agencies are in close contact with children in need of summer experiences in rural and suburban areas. Each agency is responsible for registering children for the program.
Learn more – visit http://freshairfundhost.com/ - Watch the video below.
What do Fresh Air children enjoy? Help give them a gift of summer fun.
- Playing in the backyard
- Laughing in the sunshine
- Catching fireflies
- Riding bicycles
- Learning to swim
- Running barefoot through the grass
- Gazing at the stars on moonlit nights
- Building sandcastles
- Making new friends
- Simple pleasures of life away from the inner-city
Tags: Community Service, Donating, Fresh Air Fund, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Sue Scheff, Volunteering
Sue Scheff: Teen that was beaten nearly to death, Josie Ratley, will be home soon – Be Generous, Supplies Needed!
by Sue Scheff on May 24, 2010
As Josie Ratley turns a page in her recovery, she will need the generosity and support of the community to help her family as they prepare for her to come home.
According to Jowharah Sanders, founder of the National Voices for Equality, Education & Enlightenment, www.NVEEE.com (pronounced “Envy”) and spokesperson for the Ratley Family, “There is a list of items the family will need at this time from the basic medical supplies, educational item, and a new home that will allow the family more space for a child whose primary form of transportation is now a wheelchair and a walker.”
Among the items specifically noted are:
EDUCATIONAL/REHABILITATIVE ITEMS
“Easy to read” books
Writing pads
Legos, blocks and any type of building items (to aid in motor skills)
Preschool learning toys
Electronic interactive learning items with batteries. The items include a Leap Frog learning Pad or leap Frog Computers and DynaVox EyeMax Educational Systems.
Magnetic letters and puzzles
Wall stickers in the shape of numbers of letters
Soft cushy balls in different colors (to aid in sensory development)
Learning CD’s and music for children.
ART SUPPLIES
Artist sketch pads or water color pads
Pens
Colored pencils
Paints and brushes
PERSONAL ITEMS
Towels
Wash cloths that are white
Queen-size bedding and queen-size
Waterproof mattress covers
Gift Cards
MEDICAL ITEMS
Regular Gauze (size 2×2 and 4×4)
Rolled Gauze (2″)
Normal saline
Gloves
Medical tape
Allevyn (Adhesive Hydrocellular Dressing) in both sizes, 3x 3 and 5×5
Blue Chux Underpads or any type of disposable changing pads.
The requested items can be DROPPED OFF at the following locations:
Gallery 101
501 N. Andrews Avenue, Suite 103
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Fache Arts
750 NE 124 Street, Suite 2
North Miami, FL 33161
The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale
1799 S.E. 17th Street,
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
Or you can MAIL YOUR DONATIONS to:
NVEEE
PO Box 23837
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33307
(954) 561-2626
** Please make checks payable to NVEEE/Josie Lou Ratley
For more information, please visit Pray for Josie Lou Ratley Facebook Group.
Please forward this list to all your friends in your contact list. If everyone gives a little, there will be a lot!
Tags: Community Service, Donating, Donations, Josie Lou Ratley, Josie Ratley, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Sue Scheff
Sue Scheff: Easter Seals – Walk With Me Broward – Happy Easter
by Sue Scheff on Apr 04, 2010
As many celebrate this Easter season, there are many people that suffer with disabilities and have silently suffer. The mission of Easter Seals South Florida is to provide exceptional services to ensure that all children and adults with disabilities or special needs and their families have equal opportunities to live, learn, work and play in their communities.
Easter Seals has many events to raise money and awareness to those with disabilities. Coming soon is Walk With Me Broward 2010! This is a great experience for the entire family. On April 24th, 2010 at Markum Park in Weston, there will be a 5K Family Fun Walk.
Registration begins at 8:00am and the walk begins at 9:00am.
Money raised through Easter Seals Walk With Me will support a variety of local services in South Florida including: Children’s Therapy Services; programs for children with autism spectrum disorder; Child Development Center; Culinary Arts High School program; Adult Day Care for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss; and in-home respite care.
For more information contact Paula Mejia at 305.547.4713 or pmejia@sfl.easterseals.com.
If you are located in Dade County, keep May 15th, 2010 open for Easter Seals Walk With Me Miami 2010. Read more.
Tags: Donating, Easter Seals, Parenting, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Sue Scheff, Volunteering, Walk With Me Broward
Sue Scheff: Hope for Haiti – We have come together as a nation, now we must come together as a family
by Sue Scheff on Jan 21, 2010
George Clooney, Ellen, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Hudson, Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, Bono, Justin Timberlake, Sandra Bullock, Taylor Swift, Mary J. Blige, Adam Lambert, Michael Douglas, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys and many, many more will be on the phones on Friday, January 22, at 8 p.m. EST. This is a commercial-free telethon across ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, the CW, CNN, BET, HBO, MTV, VH1 and CMT.
What a perfect opportunity to get your kids involved and help others in need. Get your teens involved! Teach them how they can make a difference. Do they receive an allowance? Do they have jobs? Encourage them to give what they can and feel good about paying it forward.
Teaching our children young and by example will make them a better person and help them to understand how fortunate we are. When disasters happen, we need to come together not only as a nation, but as a FAMILY.
So this Friday night, make it a party at your home! Put the TV on and make the call to donate and have a chance to talk to one of your favorite celebrities!
Watch video intro and also on Examiner.
Tags: Donating, Family Time, Hope for Haiti, Parenting, Parents Universal Resource Experts, Sue Scheff, Volunteering
Sue Scheff: Holiday Cards that Give Back
by Sue Scheff on Nov 30, 2009
Do you send holiday cards? Why not give cards that give back? Cards That Give is a source for charity greeting cards that give you an opportunity to give to organizations that do good all year round! Cards That Give lets you know how much of the overall cost of the cards benefits the charities, and whether that cost is tax deductible.
Are you interested animal welfare? You will find links that support the ASPCA, the Humane Society and other groups. Are you into the arts? Museums, Autism Speaks, Special Olympics, New York Botanical Gardens, American Cancer Society, and so many more! There is a complete list of charities you can choose from that participate in Cards That Give. You can also search by charity type.
Do you have a charity you that you would like to be part of Cards That Give? Review the criteria and see if you can be part of this wonderful and beneficial organization.
Take a look at the gallery of charities and cards. Check out some of the meaningful and heartfelt cards that not only will bring joy to the person receiving it, will benefit a charity.
Reminder: Holiday Safety Tips
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Also on Examiner.com
Tags: Cards That Give, Charities, Donating, Holiday Cards, Sue Scheff
