The annual Operation Christmas Child shoebox-gift drive is returning to Stratford Nov. 14-20.
Stratford-area residents will again have the opportunity to send holiday gifts to children in need around the world with the return of Samaritan’s Purse International Relief’s annual Operation Christmas Child.
Last year, Canadians filled more than 413,000 shoeboxes with toys, school supplies, hygiene items, personal notes and photos to struggling children in West Africa and Central America. Of that number, Stratford-area residents packed 2,263 shoeboxes for kids in need.
“And that was in the middle of a COVID season,” said Mike Beercraft, Southwestern Ontario’s regional manager for Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief organization that works in more than 100 countries. “The year prior to that was a little bit lower, but still a great number of boxes coming in, especially with people not going out or not shopping.”
This year, with pandemic restrictions lifted and shoeboxes also being sent to children in war-torn Ukraine, Beercraft hopes to see the generosity of Stratford residents on full display.
When it comes to packing a shoebox – whether it’s one of the Operation Christmas Child-branded boxes available at the Stratford drop-off location or the Community of Christ church at 226 Foreman Ave., or another shoebox or a similar-sized container – Beercraft says there’s a number of items that always seem to be a hit with the kids.
“One of the things we find that kids, regardless of where they are, absolutely love is stuffed animals,” Beercraft said. “Obviously not something too massive because it dominates the box, but just a small, little stuffy. Kids love small, squishy things and that’s not something they can always get their hands on. And then we’ve also seen school supplies, small things like pencils and sharpeners. For us, I know that’s super simple, but there was a situation where one class had to share one pencil and then, when this little girl got a shoebox, the pencils were her favorite item in the box.
“So things that we might overlook as being impactful really do have a big impact on a child’s life.”
As part of the annual drive, the Operation Christmas Child co-ordinators encourage those who can to include a $10 donation to help Samaritan’s Purse pay for shipping and other costs associated with the initiative.
Operation Christmas Child will be accepting shoebox gifts at the Community of Christ church from 11 am to 1 pm and 5 pm to 7 pm from Nov. 14 to Nov. 18, from 11 am to 1 pm on Nov. 19, and from noon to 2 pm on Nov. 20. Residents can also pack a box online at packabox.samaritanspurse.ca.
For more information about Operation Christmas Child, visit www.samaritanspurse.ca/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child.