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A Break from the City
ON THE INSIDE The latest happenings in our area Page 2
June 2, 2016
Taylor family annually hosts ‘fresh air’ kid by Caitlin West STAFF WRITER
The DeAngelo family not only offers a welcoming home and lots of fun for their traditional summer guest but also a bit of fresh air. For several years now, the Taylor residents have served as a host family for the Fresh Air Fund, a program that gives children from New York City a chance to trade the urban hustle and bustle for a stay with families in the countryside during the summer. The program began in 1877 and now includes summer camps in addition to the host family program. Elizabeth DeAngelo, a Riverside School District teacher, has followed in the footsteps of her grandmother, who hosted Fresh Air kids when she was DeAngelo’s age. “She had eight kids of her own, and she would take on a couple of Fresh Air children each summer,” DeAngelo said. “We have an only child, and we thought it would be nice for him to have a buddy in the summer.” DeAngelo, her husband Frank and their 10-year-old son Dominick first welcomed now 13-year-old Calvin Tam into their home six years ago. He’s lived with them during several of the summers since then, staying for two weeks at time. “It’s neat to see him grow up,” DeAngelo said. While Fresh Air kids are almost like strangers at first and a two-week stay might seem like a long time, DeAngelo noted that it goes by fast and by the end “you don’t want them to go.” “He became part of our family,” DeAngelo said of Calvin. Spending part of the summer in Northeast Pennsylvania provides “a totally different way of life” for Calvin, she said. “He lives in Queens, and he takes the bus to high school himself every day,” she said. “For a long amount of time, [here is] just a completely different world for him. It’s a chance to just do something different.” This year, Calvin will stay for just one week, over the Fourth of July holiday. The DeAngelos have shown Calvin lots during his previous
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Elizabeth, Frank and Dominick DeAngelo have hosted Queens, N.Y., resident Calvin for several years.
stays, which a couple of summers ago even included a trip to Niagara Falls in Canada. “We’ve always done a lot of activities,” DeAngelo said. “I think this summer we’re going to do a little more relaxing. We’ve gone camping. We always go to Knoebels, which is his favorite.” Despite a three-year age difference, Calvin has become like Dominick’s brother, DeAngelo said. “I always call him his ‘summer brother,’” she said. “They just hang out constantly, on their iPads or reading or swimming.”
The DeAngelos have kept in touch with Calvin and his family throughout the year, too, sending Christmas cards and texting and calling occasionally. They’ve even met up for lunch with his family when visiting New York. If families are thinking about hosting Fresh Air children, DeAngelo said, “I would just say to try it out.” “It kind of brings your family together a little bit, whereas you might ... not [otherwise] do as many things together sometimes,” she said. “Everybody’s better. I think it gels a family a little bit.”