OPM approves charity drive for Kosovar refugees

Federal employees can donate money to Kosovar Albanian refugees under a special solicitation announced Wednesday.

Except for the annual Combined Federal Campaign, solicitations in the workplace is prohibited by federal law. But the Office of Personnel Management may grant exceptions. OPM Director Janice R. Lachance deemed the Kosovo exodus an "appropriate circumstance." The fund-raising effort for the refugees began April 21 and is slated to run through August 31.

According to the Agency for International Development, more than 600,000 people have been internally displaced or forced to flee Kosovo. The Defense Department currently has 1,552 personnel deployed within the region to support humanitarian assistance efforts and the United States has projected spending $386 million to aid refugees.

Civilian federal employees and military personnel who wish to assist the refugees are encouraged to do so through cash donations. More than anything, relief organizations need funds to provide the refugees with food, clothing and daily necessities, Lachance said.

But AID does not recommend that employees donate clothing, food, medicine or other goods. "The handling, storage and transport of these materials from the U.S. to the Balkans would be extremely complicated, time-consuming and expensive," the agency's Web site says.

AID is not accepting direct donations from the public, but is encouraging donations to its nonprofit partners. Monetary donations can be directed to more than 50 organizations listed on AID's Web site. Information is also available by calling 1-800-USAID-RELIEF.