To the editor:

The people of Bainbridge Island are truly generous!

This morning two large moving trucks loaded with bicycles, scooters, sports equipment, clothes and toys left my garage headed to Salaam Cultural Museum (SCM) in Seattle. From there, everything will be loaded into a 40-foot container and shipped to Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan to brighten the lives of children (and adults) currently languishing in that massive camp.

Thank you to all who cleaned out closets, garages and toy chests to share some happiness with these displaced Syrian children and their families.

A number of islanders have traveled to Greece in recent months, under the auspices of SCM’s medical and humanitarian missions, to assist refugees arriving in Europe from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. For all of us, it was a profoundly moving experience. Not everyone has the time or the wherewithal to do that.

But everyone can do something! And on Saturday, our neighbors proved that through their overwhelmingly generous donations. So many people expressed their pleasure at finally being able to help. Thank you all!

A special thank you to Hill Moving Company who loaded and transported all this largesse to Seattle. Thank you to Carrie Holloway’s second-grade class at Blakely School who made numerous generous donations to children just like them, but in much different circumstances. Thank you to the volunteers who printed and distributed signs and posters. Thanks to Barbara Kowalski who provided cheer and warmth as she made sure donors received their tax-deduction receipts! Thanks to Shari Martin who made sure the workers were fed and hydrated throughout the long day!

And enormous thanks to my fellow Lesvos volunteer alums, Alice Mendoza and Barbara Simonsen, for pulling this all together and working so hard to help bring this critical issue to our community’s awareness!

ELLIN SPENSER

Bainbridge Island