President Praises Children for Giving to Afghan Relief
With fidgety boys and girls standing behind him, President Bush on Tuesday thanked children who have begun sending contributions to the White House to help provide food, shelter, medicine and other needs to the children of Afghanistan.
At the end of a news conference Thursday, the president asked the nation’s children--there are 72 million below the age of 18, according to government statistics--to contribute $1 each to an Afghan children’s relief fund, to be administered by the Red Cross.
The White House said Tuesday that 90,000 letters containing contributions had been received by midday.
The White House was uncertain how much money they contained.
Speaking at the headquarters of the American Red Cross, Bush told of a Virginia girl who earned money feeding chickens, and raised $45.
From an inner-city school in Indianapolis with 163 students, the president said, came $163.
“Every child gave a dollar in that school,” he said.
“Everybody can make a contribution in the war against evildoers,” the president added. “Helping a child in Afghanistan is a very important contribution.”
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