Airmen collect 400 lbs of clothes for orphans

  • Published
  • By Airman Anthony Jennings
  • 96th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Team Eglin members donated more than 400 pounds of clothing in an effort to provide clothes to orphaned children in Grenada. 

More than 400 male and female shirts, 220 pants or shorts and 38 pairs of shoes left for Miami, Fla., July 10 on their way to Father Mallighan's Boys Home in Victoria, Grenada. 

The idea for the donation effort came from Senior Airmen Anthony Newman and Jeffrey Gillum, 58th Air Maintenance Squadron, when they and other members of the 33rd Fighter Wing visited residents of the orphanage. 

The Airmen were in Grenada maintaining F-15s during a deployment to support the President of the United States while he attended the Summit of the Americas. 

The children, ages seven to 17, are abandoned children, from families who are unable to raise them. 

After getting a quick cricket lesson, Airman Newman noticed many of the children were running around in bare feet. Most of the clothes they wore were either too small or tattered. 

"It was a very humbling experience to see these kids who have a home but have fewer possessions than a homeless person here," Airman Newman said. "We began brainstorming ideas of ways we could ease their burden, but it wasn't until the drive back from the orphanage that the light bulb turned on." 

A clothing donation drive began. Word spread quickly and ended with the Airmen being so overwhelmed with donations it took two days to count them all. 

"I was very impressed at how quickly the Eglin community pitched in," said Capt. Jhames Illanez, 33rd Maintenance Operations Squadron. "It's just amazing." 

"We didn't think it would be this successful," Airman Newman agreed. "We actually had to stop the donations early because we were receiving so much we wouldn't be able to ship it all." 

But getting the clothes and accounting for them was the easy part. Finding a way to get the shipment to Grenada proved more difficult. 

"Capt. Jhames Illanez helped us out when it came to the shipment," said Airman Newman. "For a lot of airlines, the cost of shipping the clothes was more than the clothes were worth." 

What began as a clothes collection soon became a multi-government effort as Capt. Illanez worked to set up a free shipment through an airline after working closely with an attaché and other political contacts within the Grenadian government. 

"I pressed to find a way to get the clothes to the kids," Capt. Illanez said. 

Despite the logistics of getting 400 pounds of clothes across international borders, the shipment will reach the orphans by the end of July due to the efforts of those who took the time to care. 

"It's a good feeling knowing we helped do something for the children who needed it," Airman Newman said. "I just wish I could be there to see their faces."