Operation Iraqi Children: Mission Statement

Operation Iraqi Children is a grass-roots program founded in early 2004 by actor Gary Sinise (Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, CSI: NY) and author Laura Hillenbrand (Seabiscuit: An American Legend). Sinise and Hillenbrand created OIC to give concerned Americans a way to reach out to war-stricken Iraqi children and support American troops in their efforts to assist them. Since its inception, OIC has delivered to Iraq over 200,000 school supply kits, along with more than half a million toys and thousands of Arabic-language books, shoes, blankets, backpacks and sets of sports equipment, all of which have been distributed to Iraqi children by our troops. While our focus remains on Iraq, in recent months, OIC has extended its reach, sending shipments of school supplies to Afghanistan and the east African nation of Djibouti, where American troops are distributing them to children in need. Featured on CBS Nightly News, ABC News, and MSNBC, and in publications such as The Weekly Standard, O, and Parade, Operation Iraqi Children has been named by Reader's Digest magazine as one of “America's 100 Best.”

Whether you would like to make a simple monetary donation-100% of which will go to purchase supplies for children and offset shipping costs-build and send school supply kits yourself, or start a school supply kit drive in your community, you can help our troops foster goodwill between themselves and the communities they work in, and bring brighter futures to children in desperate need. Click on one of the links to the left to see how you can help. Join us!

OIC at the White House

(Left) OIC co-founder Gary Sinise sits to the left of President Bush during a meeting on June 26, 2006. (Right) OIC co-founder Laura Hillenbrand sits to the left of President Bush; past Managing Director Liz Wegman sits directly across during a meeting on March 21, 2006.

Operation Iraqi Children co-founder Gary Sinise was invited to meet with President Bush at the White House on June 26, 2006. Sinise sat down with representatives from other grassroots troop support groups to discuss efforts to support U.S. servicemembers. The meeting was also an opportunity to bring up concerns such as the difficulty of shipping items overseas.

On March 21, 2006, Operation Iraqi Children co-founder Laura Hillenbrand and past OIC managing director Liz Wegman visited the White House to meet with President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. Personally invited by White House officials, Hillenbrand and Wegman joined a small group of representatives of non-governmental organizations serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. In an hour long meeting in the West Wing's famed Roosevelt Room, the President and First Lady expressed their gratitude for the efforts of the groups attending and solicited comments on how the administration can better support their work.

OIC GOES INTERNATIONAL!
OIC's sixth shipment to Afghanistan arrives November 2007

We had long hoped to be able to send supplies to our troops in Afghanistan. With our sixth shipment arriving in November 2007, it is now a reality and we continue to explore ways to insure that these much needed school supplies reach the children there.

The second and third shipments' distribution are pictured above.