Fairfax Congregation / Area Soldiers Care For 600 Orphans

From left above, Marvin Nelson, Reverend Elizabeth Griffin and Eileen Kerkes sort through clothing for children at an orphanage in Afghanistan. Photo which was scanned from the Friday, February 13th issue of The St. Albans Messenger was taken by Greg Bessette and in no way reflects the quality of Greg's work.

Partners for troops
Fairfax congregation helps area soldiers care for 600 orphans
By Lee J. KAHRS – St. Albans Messenger Staff Writer

Fairfax – They don’t know it yet, but 600 orphans in Afghanistan are about to receive a huge care package from the United Church of Fairfax.
For the past two weeks, the combined congregation of American Baptist and United Methodist churchgoers has been gathering and donating clothing, school supplies and food to the charity drive, which began as a grassroots effort to support local troops.
Three Army National Guardsman from Fairfax are serving in Afghanistan, First Lt. Chad Dearborn, Sergeant Joseph “Toby” Quick, and Corporal Timothy Hodet.
The three men serve in a battalion called Task Force Mountain, whose mission is to mentor soldiers from the Afghani National Army (ANA). About 50 members of the Vermont Guard’s regional training center have been conducting that training for the 10th Mountain Division.
According to Dearborn’s wife, Paula, Task Force Mountain helps the ANA soldiers develop new techniques, effective training, and useful tools to complete successful missions.
“All of their efforts will help ensure Afghanistan continues to remain a country that is focused on being free from terrorist control,” she said.
Paula said the soldiers of Task Force Mountain also are helping to better the local community surrounding their base. Named Pol-e-Charki it is in the vicinity of Kabul in the western part of the country, near the Pakistan border. The soldiers have “adopted” the local orphanage and school there, Paula said, and “Operation Sandbox,” a concept being utilized by soldiers elsewhere in Iraq, is an effort to collect clothing and supplies for the children at the orphanage.
“The orphanage has 600 children and their needs are staggering,” Paula said. The men have been collecting donations from family members and friends, and then delivering them to the children.
The church collected donations of jump ropes, composition notebooks, crayons, chalk, coloring books, and clothing for the children. The soldiers will receive care packages as well. including granola bars, canned tuna, cookies, crackers, and canned pasta.
“We hope that the items donated to the soldiers will remind them that the folks at home are still thinking about them, “ Paula said. “Plus, they’ll have a taste of home!”
Paula also said, given the overwhelming need at the orphanage and the school, the church hopes to give the orphans something to look forward to.
Paula said the needs of the children are filtered through a National Guard communication network called the Family Support Network. Lieutenant Colonel William F. Roy is the Battalion Commander for the Task Force Mountain soldiers and his wife, Daneen, co-leads the Network with Kara Kitchen-Glodgett who’s husband Command Sergeant Major Forest Glodgett, is also deployed with the Task Force.
The church sent 11 boxes of supplies to Afghanistan on Thursday, thanks to the help of the Fairfax Post Office.
“I just thought it would be a nice thing to do to help out,” Paula said of the donation effort. “There is such a enormous need.”