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Operation Christmas Child is a year-round project
We are jumpstarting this year’s Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box project with these great back to school sales. It may seem like an unusual addition to the annual back-to-school shopping spree, but through Operation Christmas Child families can make a real difference to a child in need by simply keeping the box from their new school shoes and filling it with small gifts.
Operation Christmas Child plans to hand-deliver shoe box gifts to more than 8 million struggling children in 100 countries this year. An effort that massive means the project needs the help of New Albany families, not only during the holidays, but also right now.
Operation Christmas Child, a project of international relief and evangelism organization Samaritan’s Purse, headed by Franklin Graham, encourages volunteers to fill simple shoe boxes with toys, necessity items, school supplies, candy and hand-written notes of encouragement. The gifts are then shared with children worldwide who are suffering because of natural disaster, disease, war, terrorism, famine and poverty. For many of these children, the shoe box gift will be the first gift they have ever received, letting them know they are loved and not forgotten.
Operation Christmas Child is a year-round project, so why not start now with these amazing sales?
Cyndee Gillmore is heading up the project in New Albany at Graceland Baptist Church. They will be collecting the shoe boxes from Nov. 15 to 22, but she urges residents to take advantage of the great sale prices now. For more information on how you can pack a box, call 937-374-0761 or visit samaritanspurse.org
— Sarah Perrott, Xenia, Ohio
