Volunteers from Columbus and surrounding cities — making up a multi-county area team — have collected enough gift-filled shoeboxes to reach more than 42,900 children in need through the Samaritan’s Purse project, Operation Christmas Child, but they are not resting on their success. Although local drop-off locations have closed for the season, there is still time to remind children overseas that God loves them.
Golden Triangle area residents can still participate in Operation Christmas Child by packing a gift-filled shoebox online for children suffering from poverty, natural disaster, war, terror, disease and famine. Like online shopping, visitors can browse samaritanspurse.org/occ to select gifts matched to a child’s specific age and gender, then finish by uploading a photo and writing a note of encouragement to be included in the shoebox they build online. They can also follow their box to discover where in the world it will be delivered.
Participants can give a $25 gift card to a family member or friend so they can join in the excitement of Operation Christmas Child by packing a shoebox gift online. These shoeboxes, filled with school supplies, toys, hygiene items and notes of encouragement, are delivered to children in some of the hardest-to-reach countries around the world.
For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call or visit samaritanspurse.org/occ.
Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 135 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 150 countries and territories. For many of these children, the gift-filled shoebox is the first gift they have ever received.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.