Operation Christmas Child includes Ukraine Woman visiting St. Louis

Post author:independentnws
Post published:May 15, 2023
Post category:Events

—Operation Christmas Child, a project of international Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse, delivers gift-filled shoeboxes to millions of children in need each year. For 30 years, St. Louis families have packed shoebox gifts for boys and girls around the world. One of these gifts reached Elizabeth Groff in the Ukraine when she was a young girl. Groff is now visiting St. Louis Metro residents to share how the simple gift had a life-changing impact.

Groff will be telling her story to local groups and churches. She wants to encourage residents as they kick off the upcoming collection season to fill more than 86,000 shoeboxes with fun toys, school supplies and hygiene items—contributing to the global goal of reaching 11 million children in Jesus’ Name. Speaking engagement for Elizabeth Groff is Friday, June 2, at 6:30 pm North County Community Church, 7410 Howdershell Rd.. Hazelwood, MO 63042, Call Annie Staebell 314-809-4797 or Valerie Stine 314-583-3126 for more information. If no answer, leave name and number of those attending.

Elizabeth Groff was born and raised in Eastern Ukraine. She grew up in a broken family and ended up in an orphanage when she was only 7 years old. Groff was devastated by the tragedies in her family and felt very alone.While Groff was in the orphanage, she received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift. Because of the gift, she began to have hope that God would not leave her at rock bottom, but that He would meet her there, and become her family.

At the age of 13, Groff was adopted into an American family. While a student at Virginia Tech, she enjoyed getting people involved in her Shoebox Club on campus. Groff went on to earn her master’s degree in Public Health and now works in the health care field. And, of course, Groff continues to encourage people to pack shoebox gifts wherever she is. Groff recently returned from sharing the 200 millionth shoebox in the Ukraine. She visited her home country with Samaritan’s Purse and Franklin Graham.

During Operation Christmas Child’s National Collection Week Nov. 13 – 20, 2023 St. Louis residents can bring gift-filled shoeboxes to multiple drop-off locations across St. Louis to be announced in late October.
For more information, call (816) 622-8316, or visit samaritanspurse.org/occ. 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. Boxes built online go to hard-to-reach countries.

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 198 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 170 countries and territories. This year, Operation Christmas Child will collect its 200-millionth shoebox!