(Mirror photo by Gary M. Baranec) Kim Tsikalas (right) of Cresson welcomes Naheem Allen, 6, of Manhattan to Altoona Thursday afternoon. Naheem will be staying with the Tsikalas family for part of the summer while participating in the Fresh Air Fund.

Fourteen New York City children stepped off a charter bus Thursday at Valley View Park and met their host families for the next two weeks. Through the Fresh Air Fund, the kids will stay in the area with families who show them a different slice of life than what they can find in the inner-city. “I want to learn more [about the area],” said 11-year-old Lunaeya Ramos, who will be staying with Rita Murphy of Hollidaysburg. Lunaeya said she decided to participate in the program when her mother found out about it through her karate class. She said she hopes to go ice skating, bowling and on vacation with her host family. Fresh Air Fund Committee representative Kathy Bickel said children in the program are sent to towns throughout 13 states, some leaving home for the first time while others are returning to visit the same families where they have spent other summers. Ken Wyant’s family of Martinsburg has been hosting children for the past six years.