America's Compassion in Iraq
We reported on the "Beanies for Baghdad" program a while back. Story from CentCom:
It all began with a kind gesture
Barker, of Whitewood, South Dakota, was one of thousands of Soldiers in Baghdad when Operation Iraqi Freedom began in 2003. During that tour, Barker frequently interacted with the local population.
“During our ‘walkabouts’ in the community I never saw any children with toys of their own,” said Barker. “On one occasion, I threw [a beanie baby named ‘Courage’ that my sister sent me] into my bag. That day, we were at an elementary school. I saw a little girl about 4 years old named Sarah, and I called her over,” he recalled.
Barker gave Courage to Sarah, and her reaction to the gift compelled him to do more.
“When we got back from the mission that afternoon, I sent an email with Sarah’s photograph to a website for beanie baby enthusiasts. I asked them to send beanie babies to me so that we could hand them out to Iraqi children. They accepted my email and published it. I immediately began receiving emails, and within the first four or five days there were about 2,000 beanie babies on their way to me for distribution,” he said.
According to Barker, about one week later, two individuals back in the United States volunteered to stand-up a web site at their own expense. On May 4 2003, “Beanies for Baghdad” was born.
The program continues in Kirkuk...more
It all began with a kind gesture
Barker, of Whitewood, South Dakota, was one of thousands of Soldiers in Baghdad when Operation Iraqi Freedom began in 2003. During that tour, Barker frequently interacted with the local population.
“During our ‘walkabouts’ in the community I never saw any children with toys of their own,” said Barker. “On one occasion, I threw [a beanie baby named ‘Courage’ that my sister sent me] into my bag. That day, we were at an elementary school. I saw a little girl about 4 years old named Sarah, and I called her over,” he recalled.
Barker gave Courage to Sarah, and her reaction to the gift compelled him to do more.
“When we got back from the mission that afternoon, I sent an email with Sarah’s photograph to a website for beanie baby enthusiasts. I asked them to send beanie babies to me so that we could hand them out to Iraqi children. They accepted my email and published it. I immediately began receiving emails, and within the first four or five days there were about 2,000 beanie babies on their way to me for distribution,” he said.
According to Barker, about one week later, two individuals back in the United States volunteered to stand-up a web site at their own expense. On May 4 2003, “Beanies for Baghdad” was born.
The program continues in Kirkuk...more
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