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SALT LAKE CITY — On a planet with 7 billion residents, it may seem as though one person can't make a difference. Erin Freeman would disagree with that.
"I do some volunteer work," the stay-at-home mom said. "I have a huge passion for international humanitarian aid."
That's how she found herself in the basement of a Catholic church in Salt Lake City Saturday, surrounded by people packing coats, blankets and boots in boxes. It all started one day last September while watching TV with her children. She was struck by the images of Syrian refugees.
"These children are innocent victims," Freeman said.
When she saw the body of a 3-year-old washed up on shore, she knew she had to do something.
"That was kind of a catalyst for me," she said. "I started thinking, 'What can one person do? What can I try and help with?'"
She was on a car ride when she started to put a plan in motion.
"(I was) driving down to St. George to my parents' house for Thanksgiving, and I just started emailing organizations," Freeman said. "Small grassroots organizations — I emailed about two or three of them."
Friends, it's been a bit quiet around here this week as we've been running around behind the scenes getting ready for...
Posted by 1000 Boots and Sleeping Bags for Refugee Children on Friday, January 8, 2016
The groups in Greece wrote back immediately saying, "yes, we need help, and here's what we need," Freeman recalled. They said they needed boots, sleeping bags and blankets.
With every passing day, Freeman said she learns more about how great the need is.
"Just the necessity of even so much as a pair of boots when you go out in the snow," Freeman said. "There are so many hundreds and thousands of children that don't have that, that are putting plastic bags around their feet to protect them from the weather."
Freeman has experience with this sort of project.
"I went to Guatemala a couple of years ago and did a humanitarian trip there," she said. "(I) worked with some children in the orphanage and that was a remarkable experience."
Freeman said her time in Guatemala helped her understand that even though she's only one person, there was something she could do.
"It gave me some courage, I think, to kind of put myself out there," she said.
Freeman started a campaign on indiegogo.com and also asked the public for donations of items.
"People want to help, but they just don't know how to help," she said. "Nobody knows what quite to do and so this has been a great local way to help such a global problem."
In the next couple of months, Freeman will be heading to Greece to work in a refugee camp.
"This has become so meaningful to me that I want to first-hand go and try to help these families," she said.
With the help of others, she said, one person can accomplish a lot.
"I hope that when people see this, they realize that here in Salt Lake we really can help make a difference," she said. "I just hope that we open our hearts and our doors."
Donations* to help Freeman can be made on her page at indiegogo.com or on the Facebook page 1000 Boots and Sleeping Bags for Refugee Children.
*KSL.com does not assure that the monies deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
