On August 15th, the Taliban, an Islamic extremist military group, seized control of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, leaving millions of people seeking refuge in foreign nations. Of those millions of people, a small group of refugees are arriving here in Denver.

Denver was selected as one of the 19 cities in a list released by the United States government to receive refugees. Some of the other cities included Chicago, Houston, and Philadelphia. Notably, Washington D.C and some cities in California were exempt from the list due to the high cost of living in those areas.

The refugees are arriving to these cities with nothing but the skin on their backs and are desperately in need of basic items to help them restart their lives.

Our Broomfield High School theater troupe, led by senior Caedmon Burgtorf, decided that for their monthly team-building activity they would buy some of those much-needed items for an organization called Lutheran Family Services. According to their mission statement, “Lutheran Family Services is a Christian organization dedicated to providing adoption, foster care, older adult and caregiver, prevention, and refugee services”

Burgtorf found out about the opportunity through his father’s church. He said, “They shared it through a long chain pool that reached my dad.”

Burgtorf said, “There were six or seven of us there that day” to volunteer time to help the cause. The theater troupe only had “about a week” to prepare after finding out about the project.

Of the supplies needed for the volunteer project, Burgtorf said they purchased basic items for cooking and cleaning along with some essential toiletries and trash cans.

When asked why he chose to take the time to help, Burgtorf said, “I have an opportunity to do something,” and, “I would love to continue doing community service stuff because I think it has a greater impact on our community as a whole.”

If you are looking for a way to assist our new neighbors, there are many organizations like Lutheran Family Services, African Community Center, and International Rescue Committee, that are always looking for more donations and volunteers.