Operation Iraqi Children is a grass-roots program founded in early 2004 by actor Gary Sinise (Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, CSI: NY) and author Laura Hillenbrand (Seabiscuit: An American Legend). Sinise and Hillenbrand created OIC to give concerned Americans a way to reach out to war-stricken Iraqi children and support American troops in their efforts to assist them.

Since its inception, OIC has delivered to Iraq nearly 200,000 school supply kits, along with more than half a million toys and thousands of Arabic-language books, shoes, blankets, backpacks and sets of sports equipment, all of which have been distributed to Iraqi children by our troops. While our focus remains on Iraq, in recent months, OIC has extended its reach, sending shipments of school supplies to Afghanistan and the east African nation of Djibouti, where American troops are distributing them to children in need.

PTPI has pledged to involve its membership to become a part of this monumental effort. "It is a distinct honor for members of our People to People International family around the world to partner with

ORGANIZING AN EFFORT:

Getting the word out. Print up flyers explaining the mission of "Operation Iraqi Children" and inviting students, parents, and PTPI members to participate. Set a deadline for the collection of materials and include the kit assembly instructions. Establish a central collection area where items can be sorted, boxed and labeled. Ask that donors bring in tape and sturdy shipping boxes.

Shipping. Donors can ship to the OIC warehouse in Kansas City, where they will be inventoried, packed and palletized for international transport. OIC will then ship the donations internationally. Donors are still responsible for covering the cost of shipping from their location to Kansas City. To raise shipping funds, be creative. You can arrange for a bake sale, start a coin drive, or ask that every participant donate a few dollars for shipping. It is impossible to determine exact shipping costs in advance, but to get a ballpark figure, contact the postal service in advance.

BUILDING SCHOOL SUPPLY KITS:

While it is tempting to send boxes of random supplies, the most efficient and effective way to help Iraqi children is to create sets of our school supply kits, which will be distributed one to each student. Each kit contains basic, badly-needed items that can make a world of difference to a child heading to school. Assembling standardized kits ensures that each child receives the same number of the most needed items, facilitates customs clearance, and relieves our volunteers and soldiers of the time-consuming and labor-intensive process of sorting and allocating random donated items. Kits are wildly popular among Iraqis, who often request them.

For detailed instructions on building school supply kits and other ways you and your community can get involved, please visit OIC's official website at www.operationiraqichildren.org.

SEND US FEEDBACK!

People to People International wants to hear from you! Please let us know the total number of kits that your group sent. If you hear back from soldiers or the schools that received your packages, please share their stories with us at oicinfo@ptpi.org. It is important for us to share the good news from Iraq, so send us information on the success of your program. Please include contact information so we can reach you.

MONETARY DONATIONS:

Monetary donations are also encouraged for this project. Interested donors can click here to make on-line donations to PTPI’s Operation Iraq Children (OIC) - IFF. One hundred percent of all donations will be used to support this endeavor. Donors may also choose to send a check to PTPI World Headquarters through postal mail. The memo section of your check should read “IFF – OIC.” Checks should be mailed to:

PTPI World Headquarters
911 Main Street
Suite 2110
Kansas City, Missouri 64105 USA