A Gift of Compassion and Angels in Uniforms

At the end of November in 2013 Mike and I got an email from a friend of ours who is stationed in northern Afghanistan. He had a simple request, that if it was at all possible, to send children's used winter clothing and other essentials that he and his fellow service men could donate to an orphanage. I decided to put out this request out to my friends on Facebook. My Facebook post was as follows:

Hope you are all having a Happy Thanksgiving. Regardless of political views, we are all still very fortunate to live in this wonderful country called the USA and have a lot to be thankful for.

Just over 10 years ago, I was so blessed to be able to sing at our friends' wedding in Monaghan, Ireland. This couple are devoted Americans and live to insure our freedom on different fronts. They are a very selfless couple. Tom has been in the reserves for as long as I have known him. He has a good job and chose to go to Afghanistan with the reserves, putting himself in harms way even though he never had to do so. Did I mention he is selfless? He sent out an email to his friends asking if they could help him out before his tour ends.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that Afghanistan has had a lot of turmoil from many sides for decades. One of the biggest casualties is that there are many orphans. In the village near his camp there is an orphanage and he and his fellow officers and enlisted men and women would like to give hope to some of these orphans. The orphanage isn't asking for anything extravagant, they need essentials. They are looking for the following items:

blankets
bed linens
children's winter clothing (hats, glove, jackets, boots)
toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, hand sanitizer, shampoo, etc)
laundry detergent

If you can donate, you can send your package before December 5, 2013 to the following:

LTC THOMAS S. DOUGHERTY
PATG-NORTH
CAMP MIKE SPANN
APO AE 09368

If you can donate, please let me know so I can email Tom so he can track the packages. I think it would be awesome if Tom got tons of stuff to show those in Afghanistan that Americans may not be the enemy.

Feel free to copy and post if you like. Not sure my privacy settings allow you to share. I also am not bombarding groups, because I know that there are many deserving causes out there and if posting in groups, it may distract from the groups' intentions.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart and have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Rick Ziggy Pawlowski

Not sure what the response would be, I had hoped that this would go slightly viral and that Tom and his comrades would be able to bring some cheer and comfort to the orphans of the area.







If you knew Tom and his wife Karyn, you would love them. They really are a remarkable couple. 


Tom sent an email to us thanking us for the donations. I had also received several responses from those who read and shared my original Facebook post that they would help. It is obviously difficult for Tom to get information out due to the logistics of his location in Afghanistan, but his wife was able to send out some pictures of the generosity of those of you who were able to get a package off to him.  I have included the pictures of the joy that was brought to that section of the world. I know that Tom would love to thank each of you who participated by sending items and even if it was only moral support, Tom and his colleagues are truly grateful. From the pictures that I have received, I have seen some of the items we actually sent and I am sure you can probably see some of yours too. Your generosity is remarkable.

 
It looks like this is a picture of Tom sharing treats with the children. We are just glad he wasn't sharing the cigars we sent to him for Christmas.


This looks like one of Tom's colleagues fitting a child with a warm parka for the cold Afghan winters.

Please enjoy the photos and know that you have made a difference in the hearts of impressionable children, who do not know hate, have suffered loss and who deserve to know trust and love.

The love and generosity is very apparent in the faces of these children who are orphans, as a result of tribal fighting and of generations of war. No child should have to endure this plight, but unfortunately in the world there are so many children who deal with this daily.

Thank you for all your gifts of compassion and thank you Tom and the other angels in uniform for making us realize how fortunate we Americans are. Even if these offerings changes one heart, we have made a difference.