Operation Christmas Child a success

Published 11:07 pm Thursday, November 28, 2024

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The people of Marengo County opened up their hearts to children need around the world generously giving to the Operation Christmas Child project through Samaritan’s Purse.

Rick Ward, central leader for Operation Christmas Child said he was overwhelmed by the generosity of local families and churches.

“We collected 11,015 shoeboxes this year,” Ward said. “I think that may be the most we’ve ever collected in a single year.”

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Individuals, families and groups had the opportunity to pack a shoebox gift filled with fun toys, school supplies, and personal care items and dropped them off now during National Collection Week, Nov. 18-25. There were more than 4,700 drop-off locations open around the country.

History

Operation Christmas Child has been collecting and delivering shoebox gifts to children worldwide for more than three decades. In 2024, Operation Christmas Child hopes to collect enough shoeboxes to reach another 12 million children. The project of Samaritan’s Purse partners with local churches across the globe to deliver these tangible expressions of God’s love to children in need. Find a step-by-step guide on the How to Pack a Shoebox webpage.

“Samaritan’s Purse is committed to taking the Gospel to hard-to-reach places—whether its responding to a disaster or sharing God’s love through the power of a simple shoebox,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, said in a press release last week. “You can show kids in need the true meaning of Christmas this year through a shoebox gift. Please prayerfully consider packing a shoebox this year.”

Drop-Offs

Participants could use the online lookup tool to find the nearest drop-off location and hours of operation as they make plans to drop off their shoebox gifts. It is searchable by city or ZIP code. Signs at each location identified the drop off.

The Marengo County drop off site was at Linden Baptist Church.

For more information, call 770-777-9342, or visit samaritanspurse.org/occ.

Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, seeks to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world and, together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 220 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 170 countries and territories.