Still time to pack a box for Operation Christmas Child

Christmas is arriving early in Roane County, with Kingston First Baptist Church again serving as a collection point for Operation Christmas Child for festively wrapped shoe boxes full of gifts.

Through Operation Christmas Child, one of the world’s largest Christmas projects, Roane County residents are helping send shoe box gifts this year to more than 8 million children in 100 countries suffering from natural disaster, war, terrorism, disease, famine and poverty.  

Shoe box gifts collected at Kingston will be sorted and sent using whatever means necessary — sea containers, trucks, trains, airplanes, boats, camels, even dog sleds — to reach suffering children around the world.

Operation Christmas Child uses tracking technology that allows donors to follow their box to the destination country, where it will be hand-delivered to a child in need.  

To register shoe-box gifts and find out what country they are delivered to, use the EZ Give donation form found at www.samaritanspurse.org.

Robin McMillin is spearheading the collections at Kingston First Baptist Church at 215 N. Kentucky St. Call 617-4991 for details.

Collections for the remainder of the week will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 19, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 20 and from 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 21.

Last year, 568 boxes  collected at Kingston First Baptist Church were part of the Operation Christmas Child effort.  

Organizers hope this year to collect more than 800 gift-filled shoe boxes from families, children, churches, schools and civic organizations in the area.

To get involved, enlist families, churches, scout troops, community groups and businesses to take part in creating shoe box gifts for needy children worldwide.

Fill the shoe boxes with school supplies, toys, necessity items, hard candy and a letter of encouragement. Step-by-step shoe box packing instructions are available at www.samaritanspurse.org.

Sign up to join Operation Christmas Child volunteers at collection sites in Kingston as part of
the effort to prepare millions of shoe box gifts for delivery to underprivileged children on six continents.

Operation Christmas Child is a project of international Christian relief and evangelism organization. It’s part of Samaritan’s Purse, headed by Franklin Graham.

Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has delivered more than 77 million gift-filled shoe boxes to needy children in 130 countries.

For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call 1-800-353-5949 or visit www.samaritanspurse.org.