310th Airmen team up to help children abroad

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Michael Ellis
  • 6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
MACDILL AIR FORCE, Fla. --  On Sept. 6 through 9, members from the 310th Airlift Squadron at MacDill Air Force Base collected more than 150 pounds of clothing for Afghan children.
Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Gomez, 310th Airlift Squadron flight attendant, saw a post on Facebook from Capt. Donna Besley, who's currently with the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan, Combined Security Transition-Command and a friend of Gomez, stating:
"I volunteer for Operation Outreach here in Afghanistan. We are an organization made up of U.S. Military, ISAF/NATO and civilians volunteers. We are in need of the following items: shoes, clothes, blankets and winter coats to distribute to families in need," read Besley's facebook post.
The next day Gomez set up a box at the office for fellow coworkers to donate any children's clothing available in hopes to fill the box and mail to Operation Outreach.
"Four days later we had more clothes than I could imagine," said Gomez. Two individuals in particular, Tech. Sgt. Jaton Belfield and Staff Sgt. Kevin Sanchez, donated the bulk of the clothing, shoes and outerwear.
The cost to ship the clothes was more than $300.
When, Regina Push, the UPS store owner at MacDill, found out where the boxes were going to be shipped and why, they covered the cost of shipping and generously donated the 18 tightly-filled boxes.
"Thanks to my unit that quickly came together to support a great cause, my friend Donna working hard in the deserts of Afghanistan and the generosity of the UPS store here at MacDill, we were able to combine efforts and make a difference and accomplish what could not be done individually," said Gomez.
"I'm grateful to be a part of a unit that can come together as quickly as they did and provide much needed items for a great cause. I'm grateful of the work my friend Donna is doing while deployed to Afghanistan. And I'm also grateful for the generosity of the UPS store here at MacDill AFB who enabled us, as Air Force members, to combine our efforts and make a difference in the world," said Gomez.