Bergen County Donates Blankets To Afghan Refugees

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — County officials teamed up with local non-profit Project Linus to donate over 800 blankets to Afghan refugees currently situated at McGuire Fort-Dix Air Force Base after evacuating Kabul.

The donation was made Wednesday, and were delivered by the county's Office of Emergency Management.

Blankets were knitted locally by Northern New Jersey Project Linus chapter “blanketeers.”

Project Linus aims to provide "love, a sense of security, warmth and comfort to children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need through the gifts of new, handmade blankets and afghans, lovingly created by volunteers," the county said.

The first group of Afghan refugees arrived at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst during the week of Aug. 23.

Those who arrived at the joint base are among the more than 58,000 people the United States has evacuated from Kabul since Aug. 14, Al-Jazeera reported. The joint base is one of four military bases in the United States that are providing temporary shelter to Afghans as part of Operation Allies Refuge, according to the Defense Department.

Afghan refugees also are being housed at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort Lee, Virginia, the Defense Department said.

Read more: First Afghan Refugees Arrive At Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst

Keep up to date with what's happening in your community by subscribing to your local Patch newsletter here.