[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 23527]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



            KIDS TO KIDS: WARM CLOTHING FOR AFGHAN CHILDREN

  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I would like to draw my Colleagues' 
attention to an important initiative that is taking shape in Vermont. 
On Monday of this week, I attended a very special ceremony at Lawrence 
Barnes School in Burlington to kick off a program called Kids to Kids. 
The event was organized by Vermont Boy and Girl Scouts and its goal is 
simple--a drive to collect and send warm clothing to Afghan children. 
My wife, Liz, and I wholeheartedly agreed to be honorary co-chairs of 
this program and we are pleased to be part of a mission that involves 
the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, the Islamic Society of Vermont, the 
National Guard and the business community.
  We in Vermont know the importance of being well-prepared for the 
frigid winter months, and we are fortunate to be in a position to help. 
But I am particularly pleased that the impetus for this clothing drive 
has come from the children. Vermonters have always stood eager and 
ready to lend a hand to those in need, and it fascinates me to see how 
this tradition passes from one generation to the next. It is the Boy 
Scouts, Girl Scouts, and school children of Vermont who will make this 
campaign a success, and the importance of their role cannot be stressed 
enough.
  This campaign is so much more than simply a gesture of good will. It 
is a matter of saving lives. Thousands of children have fled 
Afghanistan with nothing more than the clothing on their backs. The 
flood of Afghan refugees started many years ago, and now there are many 
thousands of displaced children living in refugee camps.
  Many of these children are suffering under conditions that no child 
should have to bear. They are hungry and they are cold. With winter 
setting in, something like a warm winter sweater, which so many of us 
take for granted, is a luxury item that is far beyond their reach.
  From our small State to Afghan refugee camps, the boys and girls of 
Vermont are proving that they can make a difference. I am certain their 
``good turn'' will be as rewarding for them as it is for the children 
of Afghanistan.

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