John Kelly and his wife, Christina, who lost their son Tom at age 30, have decided to donate his belongings to Afghan refugees who have recently arrived in the United States,  writes Jeff Gammage for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The personal gesture from the Springfield couple is happening amid the largest resettlement since the end of the Vietnam War, involving tens of thousands of Afghans.

Their son’s belongings can be scattered around to whoever needs them.

His life was not a museum, they say.  

“We had a son who had a love of language, a love of people, a love of different nationalities,” said John Kelly. “How do we best put the spirit of him out there, for people who don’t have anything?”

Thomas spent his senior year of high school in Germany, lived and studied in Paris and in Amman, Jordan. After graduating from New York University in 2012, he moved to Berlin.

As hard as it is for his parents to sort through his belongings, they know that people could use them and that Thomas would want to help people trying to navigate a new life in a strange place.

Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer about Tom Kelly.

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HIAS Pennsylvania talks about the role it will play helping Afghan refugees settle in the United States.