Wantage family again hosting girl through Fresh Air Fund
WANTAGE — Salena Abbott, of Wantage, first heard of The Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Host Family Program through Lorraine Tully, the local volunteer leader. The Abbott family saw this as a great opportunity for their children to make a new friend and learn about other children who come from different backgrounds. This summer will be the Abbott's third summer hosting Yasmine, a young girl from the Bronx, for one week. The Abbott children ask about Yasmine all year long and are looking forward to welcoming her back in just a few short weeks.
The past two summers the Abbotts have spent with Yasmine have been filled with exciting activities. The family visits Knoeble, a waterpark in Pennsylvania, and plan to return there this summer with their Fresh Air friend. Yasmine enjoyed swimming at the park, going down the water slides, and her favorite part was spending time with all of the other children. “It was really fun to watch her interact with our family, and our nieces and nephews that came with us,” Abbott said. “It feels like Yasmine is family, we all instantly connected with her.”
Yasmine can be described as energetic, funny, caring, and extremely talented. “She loves listening to music and she is a great singer,” Abbott said when describing Yasmine’s passion for music. The Abbott family hopes that Yasmine pursues her interest in music and one day can make a career out of it. “We are hoping to help lead her in the right direction post high school, she is really talented and we hope she continues with it,” Abbott mentioned.
The Abbotts enjoy bringing Yasmine everywhere. Yasmine and the Abbott family have breakfast together every morning before beginning their daily adventures. They go to the beach, attend family barbeques, and take day trips to the areas surrounding Wantage. Abbott emphasized that Yasmine really just enjoys the simplicity of nature and will hang out outside all day if she can, as long as it is not raining. “Yasmine socializes with the kids in our neighborhood and looks forward to seeing them each summer, and not just my family,” Abbott said. “Yasmine instantly connected with my husband. They both enjoy playing and discussing football. It is really nice seeing how quickly a relationship formed for the two of them. He is such a great role model for her.”
After the wonderful hosting experience they have had in the past, the Abbotts are very excited to see what this summer brings. “The feeling of giving back to a child is unbelievable! You would not be able to get this experience through any other program,” Abbott said. “You will make an incredible bond and you will never look back and regret the experience. We will stick with her forever and plan to host even more children so they too can embark on this opportunity.” The entire Abbott family has learned a lot from their exciting filled weeks with Yasmine and urge many more families to take advantage of this opportunity and sign up.