THE FRESH AIR FUND.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1952, 8 January 1914, Page 3

THE FRESH AIR FUND.

WORK OF THE PAST SUMMER. Under the title of "The Happiest Storv in the. World," the report of the Fresh. Air Fund, has just "boon issued and contains particulars of the MM season of its work (says tho London "Times"). Tho report states that the fund has pleaded tho cause of tho. children for 22 years and has never pleaded in vain. Tho cry of the waifs of the big cities, who suffer even while Governments and thinkers are.' seriously crappling with modern industrial conSitions, determined on improving them, has been heard everywhere on sea and land, and "has reached the verv ears of thrones and council chambers. _ The amount received in subscriptions up to September 30 was £14,253, and with this the fund was enabled to realise its ideal of giving.more than a quarter of a million poor town children such days as come rarely in their lives and 55C0 of the neediest were sent to the country or to the soasido for a fortnight. There may be some, the report remarks, who think that this sort of thing docs no permanent good, but those who come most in contact! with tho children declare that these days in a wider world of freedom outside, the unlovely surroundings in which they live have an uplifting influence and show them tho mellow tenderness of nature in the sunshine. In 1892 the number of children given a day's holiday was 20,000, all from the slums of tub East-end of London. In 1007 children wero taken from every town that had a population of over 100,000, of which there were 42 in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. In 1908, the fortnightly holidays by the sea or in tho country woro started, and thousands of children aro now sent away to special homes or private establishments every year. Since tho fund was started 3,201,477" children havo been given day outings- and 26,515 havo been given a fortnight's holiday. Tho report states tbnt the secret of the success of the fund is that thero is no wastage of charity. Every penny that is subscribed goes towards the purpose for which it is subscribed. There are no "organisation expenses," nothing is wasted by the payment of secretaries, the upkeep of offices, or in advertisements that reduce' tho net value of tho donations that result. All the cost of the organisation is homo by the promoters of the fund. Ts'incpenco pays for one child's day in the country. 10s. pays for one child's fortnight's holiday, and each subscription of£B 2?. pay's for a day's holiday for a complete party of 200 children, with the necessary ' attendants. Of the 250.420 children who were given a day's outing last year, 115,420 came from 1-on-dott and the others from 42 different towns and cities.