Breath of fresh air more than an expression for urban children

By SHELLEY VICKERS
Collegian Staff Writer

Belinda Spruill spends most of her summer inside apartment 3C on the 13th floor of a housing project in Brooklyn, N.Y.

It is too dangerous for the 13-year-old girl to play outside, and the small trash-filled parks -- where the weedy patches of grass are strewn with glass -- are not much fun to play in anyway. So she sits indoors, watching television until mid-July.

Thanks to Virginia and Tom McAdoo, Belinda gets to spend two carefree weeks at their comfortable State College home, playing flashlight tag, swimming and running barefoot through the glass-free yard.

The McAdoo family is one of 23 host families in State College who opened their hearts and homes last summer to some of New York City's disadvantaged children through The Fresh Air Fund's Friendly Town program.

State College is one of The Fresh Air Fund's 315 "friendly towns" located in 13 northeastern states, according to a Fresh Air Fund news release. Since 1877, the program has offered free summer vacations to more than 1.6 million children.

"We want to bring them out here and show them there's another way of life -- that it doesn't have to be that way," said Jana Rohrbeck, local chairperson for the Fresh Air Fund. The children come from the inner city, where they must live among guns, violence and drugs, she said.

The children are selected to participate in the program based on financial need, Rohrbeck said.

"The hardest thing is to fathom where they come from," Virginia McAdoo said. "Things we take for granted are meaningful to them."

For example, Virginia McAdoo remembers how amazed Belinda was the first time she visited a supermarket. "She couldn't believe all of the different kinds of food in one huge store," she said.

The McAdoos are not the only people to witness the children's awe.

Rohrbeck and her family have hosted children for seven years and she said a short trip to the mall can turn into a field trip.

"They make you see the world through different eyes," she said.

Nancy Vanlandingham agrees that the children change the way she looks at everyday things. She and her husband, Wade, of Warrior's Mark have hosted 9-year-old Tiffany Jenkins for the past three years. Tiffany lives in a large, multistory housing project near the John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, N.Y.

"We went camping, and Tiffany pointed to the tent and said, 'You mean we're going to sleep in that?' She had never seen open country with farm animals, let alone slept outdoors," Nancy Vanlandingham said.

Yolanda Moorer, Tiffany's mother, said she signed Tiffany up for the program because she thought her daughter needed to get away from the city atmosphere.

"She needed to get out of here and see and do new things," she said.

But these new things do not have to be as extravagant as camping because there are no financial requirements for hosting a child, Rohrbeck said. She added that the families are selected by volunteer committee members after visiting their homes, checking their personal references and reviewing their applications.

Virginia McAdoo agreed that host families do not have to spend a fortune on the children. The children simply enjoy playing outside, she said.

"I like to swim in their pool and play outside and run and jump rope -- I'm really good at that," Tiffany said.

But the children are not the only ones who benefit from the Fresh Air Fund Program.

"Host families start out thinking they're doing this for the child, but after a few weeks, they realize that they're doing it for themselves, too," Rohrbeck said.

Virginia McAdoo said it shows her family a different way of life and helps them appreciate their own way of life so much more, while Nancy Vanlandingham sees the program as a learning experience.

"It's been a great two-way benefit. Our kids learn as much from Tiffany as she has from us," she said.

Nancy Vanlandingham is not the only one who is enriched by Tiffany. Her 9-year-old daughter Sarah enjoys playing with Tiffany.

"It's really fun. It's sort of like having a sister for a few weeks," Sarah said.

Fresh Air children are usually between six and 12 years old, and the host family can request a girl or a boy and an approximate age. The family can invite the same child back year after year, and the children can continue in the program through age 18. In additon, their visits often grow longer than two weeks as the relationships between the children and families grow stronger, Rohrbeck said.

"I'm gonna come for a long time. When I'm older and grown up, I'm gonna take a bus to see them," Tiffany said.

Nancy Vanlandingham said the memories she made by hosting Tiffany is enough compensation for participating in the program.

"You make a really big difference in one individual's life," she said. "You can't put a price tag on the experience."