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Briar Woods student sends gifts to children in Iraq
Packed in cardboard boxes, 417 fluffy stuffed animals collected in Ashburn are on their way to Iraq.
The small Beanie Babies and other plush toys will be handed out by U.S. soldiers to children in the streets, and larger teddy bears will go to comfort sick and injured children at a hospital at Balad Air Base in Balad, Iraq.
The project, Bears for Balad, was carried out by Briar Woods High School sophomore Katie Ward.
"I wanted to send something physical that the kids could hold to make them feel better," the 16-year-old said. "It's a message that America cares about them."
Along with the bears and other stuffed animals, Katie packed letters written by second-graders at Legacy and Dominion Trail elementary schools in Ashburn.
"The letters just say things like 'I hope you feel better,'" Katie said. "I thought that the elementary age was probably the primary age of the kids in the hospital."
The elementary students also had the opportunity to donate their used and new toys to the cause, as did students at Briar Woods and members of the faculty and community.
The Bears for Balad project started after Katie's mom, Veronica, told her about something she had heard while working at the United Service Organizations lounge at Washington Dulles International Airport.
She told Katie the story of children at the hospital in Balad, whose lives had been torn apart by the war. In many cases, Katie said, they had no parents, and they themselves were injured in the fighting.
Determined to do something to help, Katie started collecting teddy bears and other stuffed animals in November. Now that they're shipped, they should arrive in Iraq after about 30 days, she said.
Katie is no stranger to the military -- her father, Gerry, is in the U.S. Air Force. As a result, Katie has moved around a lot and has lived in seven states, including Georgia, Florida, Colorado and Delaware.
Since she comes from a military background, Katie said she is more aware of the situation in Iraq.
"Because of that, I think I'm more inclined to do something like this," she said. "Kids my age don't really think about what is going on in Iraq. A lot of them don't really think it's a big deal."
Katie is hoping her project will inspire more teens to become involved and do something to help.
She is working to make Bears for Balad a 501(c)(3) nonprofit so she can continue to do projects like this one.
Katie has teamed up with American Flatbread restaurant, in Southern Walk Plaza in Ashburn, as the location for future Bears for Balad collections.
She's also hoping to set up a Web site for the organization. When pictures come back from Iraq showing children in the hospital there receiving her gifts, she hopes to put them online for everyone to see.
"It makes me feel really good to do this," she said. "I'm happy to do this for the kids. I feel they need it, and I hope it makes them feel better."
For more information about the project, or to help Bears for Balad, e-mail BearsforBalad@yahoo.com.
Contact the reporter at ecoe@timespapers.com
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