    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [October 16, 2001]
    [Pages 1244-1246]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on America's Fund for Afghan Children
    October 16, 2001

        Thank you all very much. Last week I asked America's children to
    send a dollar to the White House to help provide food and medicine to
    the children of Afghanistan. Today I'm pleased to report that in just a
    few short days, children all across our country have responded with
    remarkable generosity and deep compassion.
        I want to thank Dr. Healy for doing such
    a fine job as the president of the American Red Cross. I'm proud to be
    your chairman. And I want to thank Kristen. In my speech to the country the other night, I said,
    ``Why don't you go out and mow a lawn or do somebody a favor to earn a
    dollar.'' Never did I think feeding chickens would be part--[laughter]--
    but she fed so many chickens, she told me, she raised $45 for the
    children of Afghanistan. Good job.
        I want to thank Marty Evans, the
    national executive director of the Girl Scouts of the United States of
    America, for being here. And I want to thank all the Girl Scouts who are
    here. I want to thank Robbie Callaway,
    senior vice president of government relations of the Boys and Girls
    Clubs. And I want to thank the Boys and Girls Clubs. Steve
    Culbertson, the president of the Youth
    Service of America--I want to thank Steve for being here. I want to
    thank my friend Mike Farris for being
    here. He's the chairman and general counsel of the Home School and Legal
    Defense Association. Mike, on behalf of the home schoolers, thank you
    for being here.
        And I saw a pretty familiar face, Congressman Chris Shays. Congressman, thank you. I'm so glad you're here.
    Thank you for coming. I appreciate you coming, Chris. I know you
    wouldn't be here if you didn't join all the children around the country
    for doing what's right.
        Let me tell you, since Friday, we've had 90,000 pieces of mail--
    90,000--have arrived at the White House. Dr. Healy, the American Red Cross, working with the U.S.

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    Agency for International Development, are making sure that every
    dollar--every single dollar--that's been raised by the boys and girls of
    America will be spent on the needs of the boys and girls in Afghanistan.
    For the people that work hard either feeding chickens or going door to
    door or having bake drives, you can rest assured that Dr. Healy is going to make sure the money goes where we want
    the money to go.
        Winter arrives early in Afghanistan. It's cold, really cold, and the
    children need warm clothing. And they need food, and they need
    medicines. And thanks to the American children, fewer children in
    Afghanistan will suffer this winter.
        The children have donated the dollars because they understand a
    couple of things. They understand how fortunate we all are to live in
    America. We're really lucky people to live in this country. They also
    understand that some people their own age can suffer, and we don't want
    them suffering.
        There has been some amazing stories--I want to share some of them
    with you. It's just the beginning, by the way, of the stories that we'll
    all be able to share, all across America.
        A guy works for me named Mitch Daniels, from Indianapolis, Indiana. He helped start a place
    called The Oaks Academy. It's an inner-city school. They've got 163
    students that go to that little school. He came back from visiting his
    family the other day with $163. Every child gave a dollar in that
    school. Jordan Fisher, a sixth grader at The
    Oaks Academy, wrote this in a letter; she said, ``We feel sorrow for the
    children that the Taliban has hurt, and we're willing to do anything we
    can to help them have food to eat.''
        That's such a beautiful spirit, and it's so important that our boys
    and girls of America understand that when you share with somebody else,
    it not only enriches your life, it enriches the life of our entire
    Nation. Everybody can make a contribution in the war against evildoers.
    And by helping a child in Afghanistan--is a very important contribution.
        Some students right here in Washington were among the first to
    respond. The student council at Amidon Elementary School in Washington
    organized their fellow students to donate dollars. They heard the call,
    and there was organization right off the bat. That means people were
    getting other people to go raise dollars on behalf of the Afghan
    children.
        Students at Crestwood Elementary--and I see some of their
    representatives right here on the front row--in Springfield, Virginia,
    donated--now, catch this--$2,000 from their annual fundraiser to the
    America's Fund for Afghan Children. I want to thank you all for coming,
    and thank you for your generosity.
        The other day, Laura, my wife, spoke at
    Birney Elementary School in Washington, and the students there presented
    her with $172 in donations. Home-schooled students are sending in
    dollars. Youth Service America, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Big
    Brothers, Big Sisters, and other youth groups are all raising money.
        I see the Scouts who are here. I can't think--we've got to have a
    merit badge--[laughter]--made especially for this occasion, to make sure
    that Scouts all across America, Boys and Girl Scouts, Cubs and Brownies,
    raise money.
        You know, there's a lot of focus on our soldiers, and we're so proud
    of our soldiers. But there are other ways to be in the army, and one way
    is to show the goodness of America. One way to fight evil is to fight it
    with kindness and love and compassion.
        And what an amazing contrast it is for our children to help children
    in need in Afghanistan. It points up how ugly and repressive the Taliban
    Government is of Afghanistan. And the message stands in stark contrast
    to the message of hate that our boys and girls have seen on TV, a
    message, frankly, that's hard for a lot of our kids in America to
    understand. Why would somebody hate so badly that they would

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    fly airplanes to take a life? Why? Why is it that people send ugly
    things through the mail?
        And my answer is: There's evil in the world, but we can overcome
    evil. We're good. We're good-hearted people, and the boys and girls of
    America are showing the world just that. We don't fight a religion. No,
    we fight evil. We respect the Muslim culture. We know Islam is a
    religion that teaches love and peace and compassion. No, our struggle is
    against evil people--evil people that claim they're religious but are
    not.
        And I also want the boys and girls to know that while you're
    helping, our Government is doing everything we can to make America safe.
    We're doing everything we can to find anybody who wants to hurt you, to
    bring them to justice. We're doing everything we can to respond to any
    act that may take place in our country. I know some boys and girls
    worry, but by going out to raise money to help others, it'll help ease
    the worry and set such a good example for everybody else to see.
        So I want to thank not only the boys and girls here, who have worked
    so hard in the DC area, but the boys and girls from all across the
    country who have heard the call to love a neighbor just like you would
    like to be loved yourself.
        Thank you very much for coming. May God bless your works, and may
    God continue to bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:34 p.m. in the main lobby of the American
    Red Cross headquarters. In his remarks, he referred to Dr. Bernadine
    Healy, president and chief executive officer, American Red Cross, and
    Kristen Strickland, an 11-year-old home-schooled student from Virginia.
    The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language
    transcript of these remarks.