Samaritan’s Purse launched their national collection week of Operation Christmas Child from Nov. 18 to 25. Operation Christmas Child allows donors to pack shoe boxes with school supplies, toys and hygienic items for children in need during the holiday season.
Operation Christmas Child is still open for business even though the national collection week has come to an end. Orange County citizens may still drop off shoeboxes at the Operation Christmas Child Fullerton location or make donations online up until Dec. 31 through the Samaritan Purse website.
“The joy of seeing a child open the boxes for the first time is just incredible,” Operation Christmas Child volunteer Esteban Pommier said. “We pray that these boxes will be used to bring a lot of happiness and joy.”
During the national collection week, Samaritan’s Purse collected and processed over 925,000 shoeboxes with the help of volunteers in Irvine alone. The head processing center in Orange County resides in Bonita Place, Fullerton where the processing for the shoeboxes began on Nov. 27.
“Usually we donate clothes to nonprofits,” sophomore Lillian Chehade said. “I love helping others as it reminds us how privileged we are and how we need to share it.”
The goal of Operation Christian Child 2024 is to collect enough shoe boxes to reach over 12 million children and educate children on the Christian faith. The Operation Christmas Child drop off week gives people a chance to go to various ministry locations in their neighborhoods to donate resources to those in their own communities and all around the world.
“After a child receives a gift, they are invited to the greatest journey,” Pommier said. “The greatest journey is a 12-week program where the child gets an opportunity to learn more about the shoeboxes.”
As Christmas and other winter holidays come closer each day, people are inclined to help others in their community and spread their happiness of the season. Open for the whole holiday season, Samaritan’s Purse presents their Christmas Groups of Opportunity donation catalog, offering 35 different ways for people to help those in need.
