The First Baptist Church just finished a week of collecting shoe boxes for Samaritan’s Purse for their Operation Christmas Child program. They collected a total of 1,581 boxes that will be sent around the world to spread joy and the gospel.
Operation Christmas Child creates shoebox gifts for children overseas. The goal is to provide fun with toys, school supplies to help with their education and hygiene items, as these may be in short supply for children affected by war, disaster, poverty or famine.
Students in Mrs. Jeanette’s and Mrs. Henry’s preschool and kindergarten classes at Bradford Area Christian Academy got a first-hand look at the shipping/packaging process, which includes letters and pictures for the special child who will receive it. Each child prayed for the box and then the classes visited Bradford’s First Baptist Church, the OCC distribution center in town, to prepare the boxes for shipping.
Operation Christmas Child is organized by Samaritan’s Purse International Relief. The program in the United States has been active since 1993. The origination of the program can be tracked to the United Kingdom in 1980, when Dave and Jill Cooke created a shoebox gift project in Wales. That project partnered with Samaritan’s Purse in 1993 and has continued from there.
With a $9 donation online, those who pack shoeboxes can track where their box goes. Those who pack the boxes can visit samaritanspurse.org/activate to see details on the donation and tracking ability.
