The Trust for Public Land and The Fresh Air Fund Launch New Partnership

The Trust for Public Land and The Fresh Air Fund today announced their new partnership to connect children living in New York City to land, water and the great outdoors this summer, and give them the chance to learn about the environment and land conservation.

Each summer, The Fresh Air Fund sends 4,000 children from New York City to spend the summer with 3,700 volunteer host families across the Atlantic Seaboard and West Virginia.

During the month of July, local Trust for Public Land and The Fresh Air Fund will partner up and down the Atlantic seaboard to enjoy fun-filled Day on the Land events, where New York City children and their volunteer host families will learn about the importance of conservation, then tour a local site that was protected by The Trust for Public Land.

The Trust for Public Land’s signature Day on the Land events are scheduled for July 12, 2013 at Minute Man National Historic Park, Concord, Massachusetts; Eastern Promenade, Portland, Maine; and Hubbard Park, Montpelier, Vermont; July 14, 2013 at Stonehouse Pond, Barrington, New Hampshire; and July 18, 2013 at Mianus River Park, Stamford, Connecticut.

Through this collaboration, The Trust for Public Land and The Fresh Air Fund will further each of their organizations’ goals to connect children with land and the outdoors.

“The Trust for Public Land and The Fresh Air Fund share the mutual goal of ensuring that children, especially those living in urban areas, have opportunities to recreate in the great outdoors. Many children across the country, like those served by The Fresh Air Fund, are in desperate need of accessibility to a park, playground, or natural area for recreation, and The Trust for Public Land has a successful track record of making that possible. We are really glad to have this opportunity to collaborate with The Fresh Air Fund,” said Will Rogers, President of The Trust for Public Land.

“The Fresh Air Fund is proud to partner with The Trust for Public Land, whose mission, to conserve land for people to enjoy for generations to come, closely aligns with our own goal to connect inner-city kids with nature,” said The Fresh Air Fund’s Executive Director Jenny Morgenthau.

In addition to connecting Fresh Air Fund children to the great outdoors during scheduled Day on the Land events, and to assist host families with planning exciting outdoor exploration activities at parks, trails, and other natural outdoor destinations conserved by The Trust for Public Land, the organization created and distributed a guide titled Places to Play, that was developed especially for Fresh Air Fund host families. View the guide at www.tpl.org/freshairfund.

Through this partnership, The Trust for Public Land is also connecting with land conservationists and outdoor enthusiasts, who may not currently be familiar with The Fresh Air Fund’s mission and its need for new host families, and who are willing to open their homes for the summer and share their love of the great outdoors with youngsters from the city.

About The Trust for Public Land
Founded in 1972, The Trust for Public Land is the leading nonprofit working to conserve land for people. Operating from more than 30 offices nationwide, The Trust for Public Land has protected more than three million acres from the inner city to the wilderness and helped generate more than $34 billion in public funds for conservation. Nearly ten million people live within a ten-minute walk of a Trust for Public Land park, garden, or natural area, and millions more visit these sites every year.

The Fresh Air Fund
Since 1877, The Fresh Air Fund has provided free summer experiences in the country to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities, creating unforgettable memories and fresh opportunities. Learn more at www.freshair.org.