Contents of Boxes I took to Romanian Orphans
Back in 1992, I traveled to Romania to take needed items to orphans. Fans sent clothes and toothbrushes and toys. At some point, I decided to also take art supplies, knowing the children I would see had never been exposed to paper, crayons, etc. Michael’s (the arts and crafts store) gave me massive quantities of items I requested in exchange for singing on their commercial. The amount of supplies here probably sound small, but remember: these boxes were enormous refrigerator sized containers. The cigarettes were to bribe guards or anyone trying to keep us from visiting the children in need. Just one cigarette was all it took to win someone’s favor. An entire pack would have been like handing someone a block of gold. I’d like to take a moment here and thank the good people who believed in my journey and donated so many goods (friends, family, fans) and to Lufthansa for generously allowing me to ship these 22 boxes for free. It would have cost thousands of dollars, and their kindness brought a lot of joy to hundreds of neglected, forgotten children, not only in the orphanages, but living on the streets. (Some items listed, I have no recollection of what they were. Feminine products and condoms were highly sought after, but had to be given as casually as possible to the nurses or families we encountered. And, today, it would be very hard to ship the meds, cigs, or coffee items without a lot of rig-a-ma-roo, I suppose.)
7/11/92
#1 Clothes/shoes/stuffed toy animals
#2 Clothes for teenage girls
#3 Crayons/pencils/puffy things
#4 Children’s sweaters
#5 Teen girls/hats/gloves/belts/sweat/st.animals/baby wipes
#4 baby food/socks/diapers/baby booties/baby clothes
#6 Sweatshirts/lotion/1 sneaker/1 cowboy boot
#7 Coffee/shoes/pants sets/TP/felt/cigs
#8 Bubbles/notebooks/fans/bracelets/washcloths sunglasses/mini-staplers/nerf football/harmonicas dolls/tiny kleenex/jackets/boys shirts/nyquil/pre-teen girls crest/TP/toddlers/shopping bags/toothbrushes
#9 combs/TB & P/hairbands/combs/travel shampoo/band-aids
#10 scissors
#11 boys clothes/chloraseptic/cigs/girls clothes/TBrush & paste
#12 TP/boys clothes/medicine/baby clothes/toothb/colgate/cigs coffee/combs & br
#13 Toys/instruments/Bubble neck
#14 Toothb/Toothp/TP/coffee
#15 Paper
#16 TP & TB
#17 Chalk/markers/crayons/pers. shampoo/sketchpads
#18 Pap/teenage boys/coffee/st. animals/off supp
#19 Patches/pushpins/col. books/drawing paper/rubberbands/
pencils/nametags
#20 Glue/TP/toddlers/beads/pt. brushes/some clothes/jackets/cigs
#21 Paper (roll)
#22 Paper (roll)