For Blue Springs mom Tracy Brander, the month of August is, among other times of the year, an important time to go shopping. She’s not just getting back-to-school supplies for her teenagers, she’s also stocking up on items to put in shoebox gifts that will be sent to children around the world with Operation Christmas Child (OCC).
Operation Christmas Child, a project of nonprofit Samaritan’s Purse, provides shoeboxes filled with toys, school supplies and hygiene items for children around the world. National collection week is always the week before Thanksgiving, Nov. 13-20 this year. Last year, OCC collected about 11.5 million shoebox gifts that went to more than 100 nations worldwide.
“By packing a shoebox gift and praying for the one who will receive it, I know that a child will be given a tangible expression of God's love, most likely at a time when they need it most,” Brander says. “Finding bargains and seeking out the best deals as a shoebox shopper is almost like a treasure hunt and is so much fun because, in the end, it means the love of Jesus will be shared with even more children.”
The first step in packing a shoebox is choosing whether the gift will be for a boy or girl and the age range of the child (2 to 4, 5 to 9, or 10 to 14). Any shoebox will work, but this fall Hobby Lobby will be selling branded plastic shoeboxes for purchase. In each box is an opportunity to include a “wow” item or “something to love,” such as a stuffed animal or a soccer ball. Other categories can include hygiene items, school supplies, clothes and other toys.
Brander enjoys finding great deals on a large number of shoebox items throughout the year to be used for the packing party her church holds in the fall. For school supplies, she gets much of her bulk supply at Walmart. She says Office Depot and Office Max usually have various sales on their school supplies during this season as well.
Once you have all the items in the box, a final touch can be having your children draw pictures and write notes for the child who will receive the box. Additionally, recipient children love to receive a photo of the family who sends the box. Samaritan’s Purse requests a $9 donation per box to cover shipping, which can be paid online at SamaritansPurse.org/occ. This site also gets updated with drop-off locations and provides a way to track your box to see where it goes.
Those who want to participate but simply don’t enjoy shopping can build a box online at SamaritansPurse.org/buildonline.
“Filling a box with items that may seem like ordinary items or an ordinary toy is actually a gateway to a child’s heart to see that someone loves them who doesn’t even know them,” says Blue Springs mom Johanna Scott, who packs boxes with her daughters.
Scott says her world as a stay-at-home mom can seem small at times, but what she is doing with the boxes can touch a village somewhere far away. Additionally, she says she has learned to step back and let her daughters take ownership of the project, as they enjoy it as much as she does.
Allison Gibeson is a Lee’s Summit mom and year-round Operation Christmas Child volunteer who went out shopping for shoebox items while working on this story.