Are you familiar with Operation Christmas Child? It is a wonderful mission opportunity that allows donors to spread God’s love by sending Christmas gifts to children in impoverished countries, through an organization called Samaritan’s Purse. Since 1993, 124 million shoebox gifts have been sent to kids around the world.
To start, choose a gender and an age group (2-4, 5-9, 10-14). Purchase a plastic shoe box (less than $3 at Walmart), and fill it with age-appropriate gifts. Then, visit your country’s Samaritan’s Purse website to find a drop-off location. Below are the links to the Samaritans Purse websites for the US, Canada, and the UK:
Samaritan’s Purse United States
Samaritan’s Purse Canada
Samaritan’s Purse United Kingdom
Can’t fill a shoebox by the deadline? You may ship completed shoeboxes to Samaritan’s Purse year-round (address below). The organization also gives donors the opportunity to build and pay for shoeboxes online.
I have participated in Operation Christmas Child since childhood, but this year, I am especially excited to take part. I recently found out that a good friend of mine, who immigrated to the United States from Romania as an adult, received shoebox gifts from Samaritan’s Purse as a young child. Her family did not have enough money to buy Christmas gifts, and opening an Operation Christmas Child shoebox filled with thoughtful gifts was the highlight of her year.
Operation Christmas Child
Samaritan’s Purse
P.O. Box 3000
801 Bamboo Road
Boone, NC 28607
I headed to the store this afternoon to purchase gifts for three boxes (boy age 5-9, girl age 5-9, and girl age 10-14). My goal was to choose a combination of practical hygiene products (washcloths, toothpaste, toothbrushes, bars of soap, and hair combs) and items that promote creativity and education (crayons, coloring books, 2016 calendars, craft sets, pencils, and notebooks. I also threw in a Care Bear for the little girl, a ball and set of cars for the boy, and hair accessories for the older girl.
Photos: Courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse, NashvilleWife.com
Anonymous
Yes, I have heard of Operation Christmas Child. I have participated through our church and think it is a wonderful organization and opportunity for us to get involved in giving to those children. It would be fun to watch the expression on their faces as they open their gifts! It's a nice way to reach out and make a difference in someone's life.
Anonymous
How sweet! That's great you did that…and nice choice of presents:) God bless you!
Anonymous
Wow, i just did the same but in the netherlands! My daugther 7 makes a shoebox for a girl and My son 5 for a boy. And the baby is just watching ;).
Gr dieuwke
wilma
our children do it at school, too. A real good idea. Kids are so exciting. Mom, they have nothing,right? no toys, and we have so much!!
Love, Wilma
Anonymous
You know, I had thought of doing the shoebox thing this year and then COMPLETELY forgot about it. Your post was a wonderful reminder! Thank you! 🙂
We have it so good that I couldn't simply fathom NOT doing something. The Lord is generous and faithful.
Sonya
Thank you! We picked up our boxes at our town's summer festival and I put them away for safekeeping…and then forgot about them – oops! Thanks so much for the reminder – they are now out on the counter and we are ready to shop!
Anonymous
we did these at school and i love filling them up! I am 14 so i did ages 10-14!!! was awesome!
Emily
Operation Christmas Child is such a wonderful ministry. This year we put together a box "from" each of our young nieces and nephews. So we have a niece who is 11, so we put together a box for a 11-14 year old girl! It was so much fun collecting items for. The boxes throughout the year!
Blessings,
Emily