Since 1877, The Fresh Air Fund has been taking New Yorks' inner-city children away from their stifling, noisy city streets and bringing them to places filled with grass, water, fresh air, and a simpler way of life, in the country or at the beach, or both. The kids get "a chance to truly expand their horizons" and get away from the hustle and bustle of their cities in the horrendously hot summer months.
Payless Shoe Stores has been a Guardian Angel of sorts, and a great contributor to The Fresh Air Fund, and in a very fun way. They are selling the "Friendship Shoe." They are white canvas sneakers that come with markers, like Sharpies, and the kids (or the adults who are kids-at-heart like me!) who get them have their friends and camp counselors decorate and sign them to create one-of-a-kind momentos of their Fresh Air Fund experience. The profits from the sales of the shoes go to The Fresh Air Fund and Payless Shoe Stores have donated over $120,000 over the last two years.
As many of you know, I have a tradition of wearing an Arch Bishop Rummel Thrift Store shirt to Jazz Fest every year, along with a cache os Sharpies. The shirt is worn and decorated year after year, adding special history and nostalgia with each passing Jazz Fest. It's my favorite shirt.
Today I am going to go to http://www.payless.com/ and buy a pair of Friendship Shoes and begin a new tradition of having friends and strangers alike, decorate my shoes. This will be better than my Rummel shirt because these special sneakers will raise awareness about The Fresh Air Fund and the great work they do for inner-city youth. If decorating sneakers is not your idea of a fun thing to do, consider donating to the Fresh Air Fund. A mere $24.00 donation pays the bus fare, round-trip, for a kid to get out of the city and participate in the Fresh Air Fund Porgram. You can donate online or you can mail a check to:
For more information about The Fresh Air Fund, visit http://www.freshair.org/ - This is a great charity, one that recognizes that "the only thing more fleeting than summer is childhood."
No comments:
Post a Comment