Operation Christmas Child

Happy Wednesday!

I hope everyone is doing well. So...you must be wondering what that logo above is about. For the past month (about), my Church worked on packing shoe boxes for children in developing and third world countries with toys, toiletries, and school supplies in accordance to Samaritan's Purse's Operation Christmas Child. I wanted to share this with you because it is a awesome ministry that brings people together and gives us a chance to share what we have been blessed with.


I am by no means a representative of the organization, but I do want to share this opportunity with you in case in the future you would like to look into packing a shoebox!

(The above picture was found on Google...I forgot to take a picture of my shoe boxes! :(...)

Basically, the idea is you get a shoe box and fill it with toys, clothes, toiletries, and school supplies. Simple, right? Samaritain's Purse even has a "How to Pack" on their website. For each box you pack, there is a $7 donation towards shipping and processing to get the shoe boxes to the children.

In my experience, the easiest and most economical way to pack is to look out for sales (of course) and buy in bulk. My family orders by the carton or box. For instance, toothpaste comes in 24 piece/box so we order two, giving us a total of 48 tubes. Usually, this determines the number of shoe boxes we will pack that year.

What is really cool about this operation is...if you do the shipping donation on Samaritan's website, you get an email tracking where your boxes go! (It's called "Follow your box.") What you do is, let them know how many boxes you plan on donating, and then they will let you know the total shipping cost. Once your donation is processed, they will email you a PDF with shipping labels that include a barcode, which will be used to track your boxes. (Exactly like UPS/FedEx!) The label indicates who the box is packed for (a boy or girl and what age group) as shown above.

Last year was my first year donating through their site and my boxes went to Uganda and the Dominican Republic! They also suggest including a Christmas card along with your name and address in case the child wants to write back. I have seen donors receive letters before, but I have yet to receive one. No worries! I'm hopeful that one day I will get a letter. :D

My Church's goal this year is 450 boxes. And....we collected over 650!!! We dropped off our boxes at a drop-off facility last Monday.

Anyways, I hope you will look into this ministry. :] Yay for the holidays and Christmas!!!


<3 Debbie