Operation Toy Drive to bring joy to Iraqi orphans

Published May 17, 2008
By Airman 1st Class Tarelle Walker
379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- It 's amazing to see what great things can be accomplished through simple acts of kindness.

Capt. Nora Nelson, president of the base Company Grade Officers' Council, led a group of about 40 volunteers on a mission this month to bring joy to the faces of Iraqi orphans.

The group has set out boxes labeled "Operation Toy Drive" at various offices throughout the base to collect toys from anyone who would like to donate.

"We just received care packages from so many great organizations back home, and almost every one we opened had a stuffed animal inside," said Captain Nelson. "We were thinking: 'What do I do with this? Well, why don't we collect all of them and send them out so that the right people are getting these stuffed animals'."

For Captain Nelson, the idea came in the form of an e-mail from her 12-year-old niece, Jessie, and her 15-yearold nephew, C.J., who were pushing the same toy drive in the states for a community service project.

"I'm absolutely proud of those two," the captain said. "It's great to know that even 12- and 15-year-olds want to do this. Obviously, they don't know the impact their actions had; they just started the ball rolling. Yes, they know the impact of sending the toys to the orphanages, and that it will make the kids happy; but they don't know that they
motivated all of us to give back and to fi gure out what we can do better."

Operation Toy Drive is more than just a kind gesture; it is also a small step towards the overall goal of improving community relations between military members and other cultures. Things like the toy drive are done to correct common misconceptions about Americans just as much as they are held to provide toys to needy children.

"The purpose, as a professional organization, is to win the hearts of the folks we're trying to help in Iraq, so they don't just see Americans and coalition forces as just Soldiers or
Airmen, but as people who are there to help rebuild, and this is one way that we can do it, even being this far away from home," the El Paso, Texas, native said.

Deployed military members can easily donate items to Operation Toy Drive by sharing recreational items that are left over from care packages that they receive.

"When you scrape [the misconceptions] away, we're all just humans and we need to take care of each other," Captain Nelson said. "This is a great way to do that."