As Thanksgiving Day approaches, U.S. families are expressing their gratitude by giving back.
They are filling shoeboxes with fun toys, school supplies and hygiene items to send to children in need around the world. For many of these children, it will be the first gift they have ever received.
During Operation Christmas Child’s National Collection Week, Nov. 12 – 19, local residents will collect shoebox gifts at drop-off locations in their city. The Samaritan’s Purse project, partnering with churches worldwide, will deliver these gifts to children affected by war, disease, disaster, poverty and famine.
Locally, 11 sites within 25 miles of Becker are available for drop-off. Those sites include Shepherd of the Pines Lutheran Church in Rice; New Life Church in Foley; Westwood Church in St. Cloud; Rejoice Lutheran in Clearwater; Oakwood Community Church in Becker; Electro Industries in Monticello; River of Life Church in Elk River; Nowthen Alliance Church in Nowthen; Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Anoka; Meadow Creek Church in Andover and Grace Fellowship in Brooklyn Park.
“We believe these simple gifts have the ability to send a tangible message of hope to children facing difficult circumstances,” said Operation Christmas Child Senior Domestic Director Randy Riddle. “It is exciting to see communities come together to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with millions of boys and girls around the world.”
OCC is a nationwide effort to help children around the world. More than 150,000 U.S. volunteers including families, churches and other groups are joining forces to contribute to the largest Christmas project of its kind. In 2018, Samaritan’s Purse hopes to collect enough Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts to reach 11 million children, with 9.1 expected to come from the U.S. alone.
For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, visit samaritanspurse.org/occ. Participants can donate $9 per shoebox gift online through “Follow Your Box” and receive a tracking label to discover its destination.
Those who prefer the convenience of online shopping can browse samaritanspurse.org/buildonline to select gifts matched to a child’s specific age and gender, then finish packing the virtual shoebox by adding a photo and personal note of encouragement.
Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham. The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world and, together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 157 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 160 countries and territories.
