Southampton Fresh Air Home

Southampton Fresh Air Home offers activities such as swimming, sailing, relays, tennis, basketball, baseball, dodgeball, football, hockey, drawing, painting, music, dance, drama, games, and cooking. Campers also use modern computers and iPads and go on trips to ocean beaches, sporting events, museums, concerts, carnivals, zoos, aquariums, farms, and theater. The program includes a Holiday Party in December where campers, siblings, and parents gather at the Home to have lunch, play games, and spend time together.

• Ages: 8–18 years old
• Schedule: Each summer there are two three-week sessions, plus a one-week program for younger children who have never been away from home and for children who require a higher level of nursing care such as tube feeding
• Price: Financial aid is available for all levels of need, from minimal need to 100% of camp fees

Southampton Fresh Air Home is a nonprofit residential center offering summer camp sessions and year-round programs for children and young adults with physical disabilities. Its mission is to provide an enriching, recreational and educational experience and to support physical, emotional, and educational development with the goal of fostering self-esteem, maturity, and independence through a broadly balanced program, while providing families with respite. The program is described as a Special Needs Children’s Camp and is one of the few residential camp facilities in the eastern United States designed specifically for children with physical disabilities.

The campus is fully accessible and state-of-the-art, with four climate-controlled dormitories and a well-equipped Computer Center, and it includes an iPad Program that is very popular, especially for the most severely challenged children. The program offers more than 100 adaptive activities each summer, an unforgettable Color War, nutritious meals with options for all dietary needs, and an upgraded fleet of wheelchair vans to transport campers to and from New York City and to expand off-site field trips. Weekend programs during the school year are offered free of charge and include transportation, and the program is expanding from a “summer+” model to a year-round resource serving both current campers ages 8–18 and young adult alumni who have aged out of the summer camp program.

Southampton Fresh Air Home has been serving youth with physical disabilities since 1901 and has welcomed thousands of campers over more than 125 years. The leadership team includes Executive Director Thomas Naro, Camp Director David Billingham, Event Coordinator Patricia Lynch, Assistant Camp Director Kiara Esteves, Program Manager Emma Herrmann, Infirmary and Camper Care Coordinator Eilis Welsh, and Facilities Coordinator Terrell Jones. The environment is led by caring, highly trained staff, and there is an on-site registered nurse available 24 hours a day.

Southampton Fresh Air Home is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. No child is denied an opportunity to be a camper because of inability to pay, and the program provides over $250,000 in financial aid awards to approximately 100 of the neediest children every summer, with about 75% of campers receiving some amount of financial aid. Throughout the year, the Home also offers alumni days and weekends where alumni get together for activities such as a baseball game, a movie, or a luncheon in the city, and the Holiday Party in December can include as many as 150 campers, siblings, and parents.

Last updated February 9, 2026.