Volunteer host families await the bus arrival.
DENNIS – Over 40 kids from low-income neighborhoods in New York City arrived on Cape Cod Tuesday to begin their one- to two-week vacation with volunteer host families.
The Fresh Air Fund, a non-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children since 1877.
The children, ages six to 12, will be with host families on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, and in Harwich, Dennis and Dennisport.
Martha Waldo and her husband Robert are representatives and volunteer hosts on the Mid-Cape.
She said the kids love their time on the Cape.
“One of them said to me, ‘it’s like my other family.’ They love it. They look forward to it. They know what to expect,” said Waldo.
Martha and Robert’s daughter, Sarah Waldo-Jagger, who is also a volunteer host, said the children embrace everything on the Cape.
“Everything that we take for granted, from playgrounds that have sand on the ground to walking around barefoot in grass, ice cream stores, is something these kids have never experienced before,” said Waldo-Jagger.
About 25 more children are expected to visit the Cape next month for a week with volunteer host families.
