Operation Christmas Child is underway and needs your help. It is the week of collecting donations and toys for children in over 100 countries.
This year the goal is to fill more than 400 000 shoe boxes that will be delivered to children in need, NYSE Post reports. The first boxes are already filled. Just this past week volunteers were busy packing more than 200 shoeboxes wtih toys and school supplies that will go to children in need.
The goal is simple – gather some new toys and school supplies or clothes in a shoebox and bring it to the Church of the Nazarene in Harrisonburg. Other locations are also available at samaritanspurse.org/occ. The chuch will e accepting boxes all week until next mondey.
You can use your creativity to pick up the gifts. They can include stuffed animals, toys, school supplies, clothes, non-liquid personal care products, crafts, games. Anything that you feel it will bing a smile to a child.
The National Collection Week is the first part of Operation Christmas Child. There will be more than 4000 drop-off sites in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. There are three age categories which makes it easier to pick appropriate gifts – 2-4, 5-9, 10-14. You can also note if your gifts will be more to the liking of a girl or a boy.
While the goal is to be a Secret Santa of sorts, for a $7 donation, you can have a tracking number added to your box and find out who will receive the gift. The added benefit of this is that you may be able to help with further donations.
Volunteers of Operation Christmas Child will also add pens, notebooks and small stuffed animals to some of the gifts. They will also pack their own gifts to distribute to children in need all over the globe. The main goal is simple – to spread joy, goodwill and love. It shows how powerful a small gift can be.
