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Last winter, 900 Afghanistan citizens died due to extreme weather conditions. A Nephi teenager heard that number and set about a service project to make a difference.
Braden Welburn made a difference that has him today being praised by the Utah National Guard. His project resulted in the largest donation ever to Operation Golden Spike, an organization dedicated to helping the needy in Afghanistan.
Welburn shipped 32 boxes with hundreds of coats, mittens, hats and blankets to Afghanistan. He began gathering the items after hearing from family friend 1st Lt. Will Biesinger.
Welburn took on Biesinger's request for help as his Eagle Scout project. Over a five-month period, he collected coats never claimed from lost and founds, and new donations Welburn said, "It was a long process. We washed them, sorted them, [and] packed them."
After raising $1,000 to ship them to Afghanistan, the boxes were on their way; then came the distribution to hundreds of adults and children. "Many of them walked away with a new coat, in bare feet," Biesinger said.
And back in Nephi, pictures taken of the boxes being delivered to Afghanistan seemed to touch Welburn the most. He said, "It was cool to look at the kids' faces, to see them react."
The response to Welburn's project was so big that donations kept coming in after the initial shipment. He sent a second shipment a couple weeks later.
E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com
