Collection seeks 4,500 gift-filled shoe boxes, Nov. 16-23

Post author:independentnws
Post published:November 12, 2009
Post category:Florissant
Post comments:0 Comments

It’s beginning to look like Christmas in North County, as local businesses, churches and homes prepare to serve as collection points for Operation Christmas Child. Soon, with the help of North County volunteers, the sites will be brimming with festively wrapped shoe boxes full of gifts.

Through Operation Christmas Child, the world’s largest Christmas project, North County residents are packing shoe box gifts for children in more than 100 countries suffering from natural disaster, war, terrorism, disease, famine and poverty. From North County, the shoe box gifts will be sorted and sent using whatever means necessary—sea containers, trucks, trains, airplanes, boats, camels, even dog sleds—to reach suffering children around the world.

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JIM MCCAUGHAN stacks boxes at Parker Road Baptist Church for the collection to run Nov. 16-23.

Operation Christmas Child uses tracking technology that allows donors to “follow your box” to the destination country where it will be hand-delivered to a child in need. To register shoe box gifts and find out what country they are delivered to, use the EZ Give donation form found at www.samaritanspurse.org.

The North County collection site is at Parker Road Baptist Church, 2675 Parker Road, Florissant Hours are as follows:

Mon. Tues. 8 am-3 pm

Weds. 1 pm-6:30 pm

Thurs-Fri. 8 am-3 pm

Sat 9 am-1 pm

Sun 2 pm-5 pm and Mon 8 -10 am

JIM MCCAUGHAN stacks boxes at Parker Road Baptist Church for Operation Christian Child to run Nov. 16-23

In 2008, the North County area contributed 4013 boxes to the Operation Christmas Child effort. This year, organizers hope to collect 4500 gift-filled shoe boxes from families, kids, churches, schools and civic organizations in the area.

Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child, a project of international Christian relief and evangelism organization Samaritan’s Purse, headed by Franklin Graham, has delivered more than 69 million gift-filled shoe boxes to needy children in some 130 countries.

For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call 1-800-501-2716 or visit www.samaritanspurse.org. National Collection Week is Nov. 16-23.