BOONE, N.C.—As the summer season comes to an end, local families are preparing for the school year with back-to-school sales, but many families are not just shopping for their own children. Families are collecting school supplies, along with personal care items and fun toys, for children in need around the world.
These items will be packed into Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts, which will be sent to children in over 100 countries—reminding boys and girls that God loves them and they are not alone. For many children around the world, school supplies like markers, pencils, and crayons are a luxury many cannot access.
For George Onyango, a shoebox recipient from Kenya, these basic supplies were something his family could not afford. Without access to notebooks and pencils, Onyango struggled in school, often forced to use his fingers to complete schoolwork in the dirt. His classmates sometimes deliberately disrupted his work because of his lack of supplies.
But when he received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox, Onyango discovered a notebook and a set of pencils all for himself. This simple gift provided school supplies he desperately wanted and ignited in him a deeper understanding of God's grace and care for his life.
For more information, visit samaritanspurse.org/occ. National Collection Week is Nov. 16 – 23. Participants can donate $10 per shoebox gift online through “Follow Your Box” and receive a tracking label to discover its destination.
Those who prefer the convenience of online shopping can browse samaritanspurse.org/buildonline to select gifts matched to a child’s specific age and gender, then finish packing the virtual shoebox by adding a photo and personal note of encouragement.
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 232 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 170 countries and territories.
Media Note: For complete media materials and high-resolution downloadable photos, visit samaritanspurse.org/occnewsroom.