DAI Raises $6,882 for the Linda Norgrove Foundation

October 21, 2016

DAI staff recently raised $6,882 for the Linda Norgrove Foundation during annual activities to observe the October 8, 2010, passing of the DAI staff member. The foundation gives grants to assist programs in Afghanistan that help women and children affected by the war.

Fundraising events included a lunch meeting with the Norgrove family, casual dress day, food and drink sales, and the annual DAI 5-kilometer Fun Run/Walk in Bethesda, Maryland.

Participants in the annual DAI 5-kilometer Fun Run/Walk to benefit the Linda Norgrove Foundation.

The foundation was established after the death of Linda, who was kidnapped September 26, 2010, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, and died during a rescue attempt by U.S. forces. Linda was working for DAI as a regional director in eastern Afghanistan on a U.S. Agency for International Development-funded program to create jobs and strengthen local Afghan leadership and economies in vulnerable areas.

Operated by Linda’s parents, a small team of volunteers, and one part-time employee in Afghanistan, the foundation has awarded more than 100 grants, including to orphanages for disadvantaged disabled children, homes for widows, education for girls, and emergency medical help for abused women. Every year in late September and early October, commemorative run/walks and other events are held in honor of Linda and to raise money for the foundation.

“[Our] special emphasis on providing education and incomes for women is because we believe that these [programs] are most likely to create a positive lasting change for the country,” according to the foundation.