The Children's Fresh Air Home

Photo taken of the Children’s Fresh Air Home on its dedication day on June 28, 1928 at 11th & Surf Aves. in North Wildwood, NJ. Right, one woman, forty-one years old, mother of six children, began a mission program in 1896 that made a difference in the lives of over 20,000 children in the last one hundred fourteen years. Her name was Mrs. Isaac Reyner Dukes or L. Ida Dukes, above at the Fresh Air home.

Inspiration, encouragement, support. Many of us have had people in our lives that provided us with these things, and through kind words or gestures we found hope. Many times it happened when we were younger, in our formative years, and these incidents helped us become who we are today. The Children's Fresh Air Home in North Wildwood wants to make this same difference in the lives of the kids they serve; they want to give them positive experiences that stay with them throughout their lives.

The Children's Fresh Air Home (CFAH)'s mission is to "offer a safe and loving haven for underprivileged children who may be living with family or community adversities, integrate fun and learning in a Christian environment, and provide deserving children with happy memories and positive adult interactions." Children from the ages of 7-11 spend about 2 weeks in the home over the summer, enjoying beach days, field trips, and other local outings and excursions. Essentially, the home is a vacation where children can be guests and get away from their normal environments.

The CFAH was founded in 1896 in Haddonfield New Jersey, and moved to North Wildwood in 1911. The founder was Mrs. Isaac Reyner Dukes, a woman that loved and wanted to help underprivileged children in her community. She noticed there were plenty of organizations that provided food and clothing, but no organization that let kids living in bad circumstances have a safe environment to just have fun and be kids! So she decided to create such a place, and the Children's Fresh Air Home was born.

In 1923, a Wildwoods local, Henry Otten, recognized the good being done by the CFAH, and pledged to donate half the financial costs to build a new home at the Jersey Shore in North Wildwood. Mrs. Dukes then worked hard to raise the funds and together they built the current four floor structure on Surf Avenue, and modeled it after Mr. Otten's hotel.

Due to almost a century of wear and tear, as well as the seashore environment the CFAH building has been closed for repairs and renovations for the past four years. The CFAH is still taking care of their children by sending them to the Haluwasa Christian Camp in Hammonton NJ, while raising the funds for the necessary repairs needed to bring their home back to life. The renovations are financed mainly through fundraisers and donations, which can be made online through the website. The Century Campaign is the name given to the renovation project, and their goal is to preserve the exterior, but update and rebuild the interior.

"The structure is important to us because it is where we host our program," stated Angel Daniels, the Executive Director of the campaign. However the most important fact is that "for 114 years this organization has been helping children. We have testimonials from children from many years ago, and they have very successful lives and they attribute a lot of that success to having an opportunity when they were young. There are a lot of children out there that never...see a different world outside of the one that they live in."

The building is 87 years old, and has never been anything else but the residence of CFAH. On an island in which buildings constantly change businesses, occupants and are torn down and replaced by condominiums, a building that has always remained the same in purpose and appearance is rare, and should be preserved.

In addition to being inhabitable again, the new home will be able to serve children to much greater lengths. The addition of heat allows the opportunity to make the home a three season retreat, instead of just a summer home. Other additions like an elevator will make the house accessible to children with handicaps.

The Children's Fresh Air Home wishes to get their building back up and running as soon as possible; so they can continue their mission of helping children that need it.

"Our best estimate is that we have served over 20,000 people over the years. I have always believed that...it only takes saying one thing, or showing one thing to a child that can make a difference in their life," Angel said. "That could be the one thing they remember that serves them forever."

If you would like more information or if you are interested in helping with any size donation, please contact Angel Daniels at 609-522-2716 or angeldaniels@comcast.net ~ www.freshairhome.org