For some of us this is a very familiar charity event held each year. For others this might be the first time you are hearing about it. At the very least, you may have heard about it but not truly understood what goes into pulling off such a big operation. My objective is to shed some light on what Operation Christmas Child is about and the four simple ways you can help.
I hope this goes without saying, but just in case your curiosity gets the best of you. I receive nothing for this material. It is just a cause that I hold near and dear to my heart. I have participated in donating shoeboxes for many years, but took steps towards doing more this year. I wanted to share my findings with you sweet folks in hopes maybe God will lead you to join in on the cause this year and/or next.
Ok, let’s jump in.
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Operation Christmas Child
Let’s start first with the organization Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief organization. Samaritan’s Purse was founded in 1970 by Bob Pierce and is now run by Franklin Graham. This organization is quick to jump in to provide relief for natural disasters, epidemics, and war-stricken areas. The mission of Samaritan’s Purse is to follow the example of Christ by helping those in need and proclaiming the hope of the Gospel.
Samaritan’s Purse founded Operation Christmas Child in 1993 by filling 28k shoeboxes with items for children in the Bosnia war zone. This year, 2022, OCC has fulfilled more than 200 million shoeboxes that have been given to children in over 170 countries and territories.
Wow, can you imagine an arena large enough to house 200 million little smiling faces that have received, in some cases, their very first gift ever!
Not to mention their smiling parents who have witnessed the joy brought to their children from Samaritan’s through the power of God’s love.
It is easy to imagine the holy spirit moving mountains on the day of unwrapping in these remote areas.
How to Get Involved
There are four different ways you can help Operation Christmas Child be a success. However, there are countless ways you can go about achieving the four requests.
1. Pack a Shoebox
* 2022 National Collection week was November 14th-22nd. However you can build a shoebox online if you still would like to contribute this year.
The most traditional and practical way you can help is by packing a shoebox. You can back a shoebox you have available, a dollar store plastic carton of the same size, pick one up from a local participating church, or you can also purchase large quantities online from Samaritans Purse if you are hosting a packing party or are a leader for an organization.
Once you have your box you can find ideas for items to pack in your box here. Please be mindful there are items that can’t be shipped due to customs.
After your box is packed then your next step is to attach a shoebox label. Labels are even trackable so you can see exactly which country your gift is going to after being processed in December.
There is also an option to pack a virtual shoebox. Isn’t technology great! Now this option is available past the National Collection week. Which is great if you are just hearing about it or missed your opportunity to pack a physical box this year.
Curious if these boxes really get boxed up? Well my friend, they do. They have a special group of volunteers come in after the initial rush of received packages to pack these goods up for you so they can be sent out all over the world.
2. Donate
Maybe you feel led to put your money towards the operating costs of Operation Christmas Child. This is a BIG DEAL! There is so much that goes into the backend of making this event happen. Not to mention the transportation costs. The estimated cost to ship one shoebox is $10.
The money you donate will be put to good use in helping make sure each deserving child receives their special package made just for them! See the different ways you can donate here.
3. Volunteer
You have four unique opportunities to volunteer with Operation Christmas Child. You can sign up to help out year-round with various tasks, become a project leader, work at a drop off location, or at a processing center. Check out all the opportunities here. There are 8 processing centers across the US.
I had the pleasure of volunteering this year and I can’t tell you how much JOY is felt in a processing center as these packages get handled with care, prayed over, and distributed to the appropriate shipping destinations.
The holy spirit is at work not only for these little ones and their families, but for our society as well. It is breath taking to see how many people have taken the time and put their money into creating the boxes. Then to see the hundreds, more like thousands across all the days, donate their time for underprivileged children across the world. Now that is news worthy! See this reel from my day in the distribution center.
4. Pray
All of this would not be possible without the power of prayer. Many prayer warriors are needed to lift up this organization to reach all the destinations and children that they do.
Pray over your box, pray for the child that receives the gift and their family, and pray for all the volunteers and workers who make the processing possible. If you want to join Samaritan’s Purse Prayer Network and receive monthly prayer requests via email you can do so here.
Small Actions Lead to Big Movements
I want to leave you with this notion. One moment of your time in prayer or through donating a few dollars can make a big difference in many children’s life. Getting involved moves us closer to what is needed more of in this world. Action, love, and compassion. All of these things are possible through Him.
Let God lead you in a direction that may make you feel a bit uncomfortable in the beginning. I have to admit I struggled in the beginning thinking about driving 2 hrs one way and giving up a work day to volunteer in the processing center.
Feeling nervous or uncomfortable is totally normal. However, I can now tell you on the other side, that giving back that time to move God’s kingdom was way more valuable than anything else that could have been achieved that day. I honestly can’t wait to volunteer again next year!
I hope this was helpful and insightful in how you can grow or continue to grow with Operation Christmas Child.
If you would like to stay in touch. Learn more about great opportunities like this and become apart of a like minded community. I would love to invite you to my network of amazing people.
Until next time, sweet friend!
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