Archive for November, 2009

Published: Thursday, November 12, 2009 1:49 PM CST
For Marita Metcalf, packing shoebox gifts to help hurting children around the world was already a holiday tradition, but she wanted to do more.

Metcalf wanted to motivate others to pack shoe box gifts and help collect them to send to some 8 million children in more than 100 countries. It’s a goal that requires the generosity of local volunteers.

Metcalf is the drop-off site coordinator at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church for Operation Christmas Child – a volunteer role that involves developing and leading a local leadership team. Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, uses gifts to share hope with suffering children overseas – some of whom will go to children who have never received a Christmas present.

“These are children who have seen and felt suffering more than a child should ever experience,” said Metcalf. “The shoe box gifts show them that people care. It doesn’t take a lot of time to send hope to a hurting child.”

You can:

Pack a shoebox gift – Fill shoeboxes with school supplies, toys, necessity items, candy and a letter of encouragement. Step-by-step shoebox packing instructions are available at www.samaritanspurse.org.

Collection and relay sites – Operation Christmas Child will be collecting gift-filled shoeboxes at more than 2,400 drop-off sites nationwide.

Spread the word – Help enlist families, churches, scout troops, community groups and businesses to take part in creating shoebox gifts.

Processing centers -Volunteers at these large centers inspect shoebox gifts received from collection sites and prepare them for shipment to needy children on six continents.

Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child, a project of international Christian relief and evangelism organization Samaritan’s Purse, headed by Franklin Graham, has hand-delivered more than 68 million gift-filled shoe boxes to needy children in some 130 countries.

Our Savior’s Lutheran, at 1616 W. Olive St. in Stillwater, will collect shoebox gifts from Nov. 16-23. Hours are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. Wednesday; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6-8p.m. Thursday; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to noon Saturday; 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Sunday; and 9 a.m. to noon Monday.

For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call 612-359-7025 or visit www.samaritanspurse.org.

Girls from Troops 10519, 10651, and 11202 worked together to help host the box packing party. The troops that attended learned about OCC, how it got started, the countries the boxes go to, and the processing center. The 41 girls that attended packed 47 boxes.

Troop 10512 Packs boxes for Operation Christmas Child