Shoeboxes for children in Central America and West Africa will soon be shipped as Operation Christmas Child begins.
Frank King with Samaritan’s Purse described what Operation Christmas Child is all about.
“Generous Canadians pack shoeboxes full of school supplies, hygiene items, and toys and drop them off at one of the hundreds of drop-off locations across Canada.”
People in Prince George can drop off filled shoeboxes at College Heights Baptist Church:
- Today: Thur. Nov. 18 4:00pm – 7:00pm
- Fri. Nov. 19 4:00pm – 7:00pm
- Sat. Nov. 20 10:00am – 4:00pm
- Sun. Nov. 21 12:00pm – 3:00pm
King said they ask that people leave ten dollars in the box to cover shipping, but noted that is just a request, and not needed.
“For a lot of these children, these gift-filled shoeboxes will be the first gifts they will have ever received in their lives,” said King.
He added that the pandemic has had an especially bad impact on these countries.
“When we go into recession, they go into depression. So when you think of how North America has struggled in the last two years with the effects of the pandemic, you can imagine how much worse it is in countries like El Salvador or Senegal for example.”
King said that gifts from strangers they’ve never met can inspire hope in these children, and added that he got to see these effects first hand.
He travelled to El Salvador and met one of the children who received a shoebox, and said that he basically lived in an oversized shed.
“I met the boy who got his shoebox and I had a chance to talk to his mother, and I said to her, when Christmas comes, or when his birthday comes, what do you give him? And she just looked at me and said, we give him a hug.”
Samaritan’s Purse also has an online shoebox packing option, where people can go on their website, choose toys, hygiene items and school supplies to go in the box, and can even upload a photo and a personal message.
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