Explore Article Categories

Alumni

Alumna treats NYC kids to ‘fresh air’ through national nonprofit

October 31, 2018

As a young child in Vermont, Micah Lee (’06) had four brothers and desperately wanted a sister. Thanks to the nonprofit The Fresh Air Fund, she got her wish.

Established in 1877, The Fresh Air Fund pairs children from New York City with host families on the East Coast for a few weeks each summer so that they can explore life outside the city. Children must come from low-income families and live in one of the five boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island.)

Lee’s family welcomed several children into their home over the years, including one girl, Yemaya Bordain, with whom Lee shared a special bond.

“We’re still friends, more like family really,” Lee said. “That’s what The Fresh Air Fund is all about. It’s about creating lasting relationships.”

Bordain was featured along with Lee and her parents in a recent New York Times article about the impact that The Fresh Air Fund has had on their family and on Bordain, who now works for Intel. Bordain was the first black woman to earn a Ph.D. in computer engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Lee, who studied elementary education at Liberty, works as a service coordinator for the Infant and Toddler Connection of Central Virginia. But The Fresh Air Fund is still a significant part of her life. She serves as a representative for the Lynchburg area, setting up host families and serving as a host herself. For the last three summers, Lee and her husband, Dan, and their sons, Jackson and Wyatt, have hosted 9-year-old Bryan from Queens. Like the children who came to her home growing up, Lee said Bryan has also become part of their family.

Lee attended the annual Fresh Air Fund conference in New York and had dinner with Bryan and his parents. As Bryan translated for all of them, from English and Spanish, the conversation caught the attention of their waiter.

“I told him about The Fresh Air Fund, and he kept asking me about it,” Lee said. “He told me that he felt that something like that could have changed his life when he was a kid.”

Lee said Bryan enjoys spending time in Virginia.

“He loves coming to our house because we have dogs, and he doesn’t have any pets at his house,” Lee said.

She added that parents like Bryan’s are appreciative of other families who can help their child have a memorable learning experience.

“They told me that they see the value of this program,” she said. “They also trust me, which is huge, and they know I have his best interests in mind. Even if Bryan gets a little homesick sometimes, his dad encourages him by saying, ‘Make sure you enjoy this time because you’re doing things you can’t do at home.’ And that’s true — these kids don’t leave their block. Giving them this chance every summer helps them see what kind of opportunities exist for them even beyond their city.”


Share your accomplishments, career advancements, family news, celebrations, and other life events through Liberty’s Class Notes. Submissions will be published online and may be featured in the Liberty Journal.

Get the e-magazine straight to your inbox!

It only takes a click to unsubscribe.