Donations For Afghan Refugees Collected By Falls Church VFW Post

FALLS CHURCH, VA — VFW Post 9274 of Falls Church collected more than 6,000 pounds of donations, including clothing, hygiene products, blankets and baby supplies, for use by refugees from Afghanistan.

The supplies, collected in September, were then delivered to the Afghan Youth Relief Foundation in Dulles where they were sorted.

As the size of the project grew in scope with an outpouring of support from the community, the post was joined by volunteers from Arlington VFW Post 3150, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Georgetown University Student Veterans Association and Veterans of American University to handle the large volume of donations.

"I originally visualized this drive as a way to direct our members' efforts on something positive in the midst of the ongoing coverage of events in Afghanistan during the withdrawal," VFW Post 9274 Senior Vice Commander Dalton Dwinell said in a statement.

"The daily news cycle was affecting many of our members from those who recently served in Afghanistan to our Vietnam Era Veterans and I wanted to give our members something positive to focus on,” Dwinell said. “I have been overwhelmed with how much of a positive impact this provided not just for our members but for our community and neighbors to also be able to help so many in need at such a critical time."

The mission of VFW Post 9274 is to foster camaraderie among veterans of overseas conflicts and to serve veterans and the community.