Col. Vick Kuchar of the U.S. Air Force spoke to volunteers and donors at a clothing drive at Burke Lake Park last Saturday about his experience with the children of Afghanistan. Showing his photo collection from his tours in the Middle East, he explained that the harsh conditions of the Afghani winter often cause frostbite on the children’s limbs. Many children do not have shoes to wear during the snowy and windy days and nights.

"Our first goal is to save fingers, save toes and save lives," said Kuchar. "Once we can provide basic necessities, we hope to bring education to the small villages."

The Lamia Afghan Foundation hosted the First Annual Afghan Winter Warmth Watch and Collection on Saturday, Nov. 1, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Burke Lake Park. This was the organization’s first drive to collect winter clothing and school supplies for the children of Afghanistan.

The drive collected winter clothing, shoes, sleeping bags, jackets and other items for the citizens of Afghanistan. The winters in Afghanistan are harsh, and many citizens in small villages suffer during the difficult winter conditions.

Donors dropped off goods, which were then sorted by the event’s 30 volunteers into different categories, such as women’s clothing, children’s clothing and household items. The drive collected enough goods to fill two large trucks, and efforts to continue sorting goods will continue this week.

Once the donations are sorted and boxed, Denton Airlift will take them to Afghanistan with the help of the United States Agency for International Development sometime later this month. The group uses extra space on military planes to transport donated goods to Afghanistan.

"We think of this as a hand up, not a hand out," said Jan Bradley, a co-founder of the Lamia Afghan Foundation. "A lot of military personnel are helping the people of the Afghanistan. America has a great heart, we need to help them over there."

Saturday’s efforts took place in conjunction with two other drives in the country, one at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas and one at Tarrant County Community College in Fort Worth, Texas.

"It takes a lot of effort and a lot of people working very hard to get this shipped over," said Bradley. "It’s got to be sorted, packed, transported, flown and distributed. A lot of people help along the way."

"There are so many groups that came here to help today. We have military personnel, Afghan-Americans, Christians, Muslims, everyone. It’s about everyone coming together to help these people," said Bradley.

"We are so glad we did something to help today," said Najiba Hashimi of Alexandria, an Afghani woman who left the country 28 years ago with her family. "As an Afghani, we appreciate the help that is being given to the country."

THE LAST DRIVE that the Lamia Afghan Foundation was involved in sent over 39,000 pounds of goods over to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan in December 2007. The shipment consisted of coats, tarps, tools and other goods.

The Lamia Afghan Foundation grew out of a mission called Operation Care. The organization is based in Nashville and made up of nine board members. It earned its name from a girl named Lamia in a small village in Afghanistan. When retired Lt. Gen. John Bradley of the U.S. Air Force was helping to distribute goods in the village, Lamia asked Bradley for a pair of boots.

It was his wife, Jan Bradley, who helped organized efforts to send over shoes and other basic items to the citizens of Afghanistan, including a pair of boots for Lamia. The Bradleys then started an organization to further efforts to help the children of Afghanistan.

"Today has been a great success so far," said Leigh Ann Bradley, daughter of Jan and John Bradley, who volunteered at the drive and also does public relations for the Lamia Afghan Foundation. "It’s fun to get to know different people and hear their stories. A lot of people want to help, but they don’t know how. This is something easy that anyone can do."

Kuchar will travel to Afghanistan next week on his 43rd trip to the Middle East. He has spent over 1,000 days in Afghanistan and Iraq and, when not on duty, he has become involved in helping the goods gathered at drives get into the hands of those in need.

"I’m just one guy. There are many other military personnel doing great things for the people of these countries," said Kuchar. "I get to see the results of everyone’s hard work first hand."