A massive donation drive took place Monday at Chicago’s United Center, with items going to the thousands of Afghans currently housed at U.S. military bases following their evacuation from Afghanistan earlier this year.
According to Team Rubicon, a veteran-led disaster response organization, the donation drive ran from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday at the United Center.
Donations at the drive will go to families displaced by the conflict in Afghanistan.
"We’re collecting a variety of items for those families," said Jennifer Gist, a Team Rubicon member. "A lot of them came here off the plane with literally just the clothes on their back and the shoes on their feet. Literally. Nothing."
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
An estimated 100 people came by, donating enough items to fill 120 boxes, organizers said. The truck in which donations were placed was "packed to the brim."
Team Rubicon, founded after an earthquake devastated Haiti in 2010, has grown to more than 150,000 volunteers across the United States, and has put together more than 800 operations across the world.
