It does not take much to brighten a child’s day on Christmas. With Operation Christmas Child, gifts such as soap, a wash cloth, toothbrush and a coloring book can mean a lot to a child who does not have much to call their own.
More than 100 countries are the recipients of gifts distributed through Operation Christmas Child, through Samaritan’s Purse, a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization.
Gifts can include small toys, games and books. Items must be packed in a shoebox or shoebox-sized box and dropped off at the set locations.
Next week local drop off times at the Niles Adventist School at 110 N. Fairview start on Nov. 14 and lasts through Nov. 21.
Esther Jones is the Niles collection center coordinator and has worked for Operation Christmas Child for 20 years. In those years, she has seen and heard the stories about how much the gifts mean to children around the globe.
“By participating in Operation Christmas Child everyone can bring joy and hope to children living in the poorest situations,” Jones said in an email.
With shipping costs included, the typical box costs between $15 to $17 to fill with gifts and send.
Last year the Michiana area was able to collect 33,250 boxes. This year, the goal is to collect at least 35,500. Internationally the nonprofit collected 11.2 million boxes.
Jones said among some of the most important items a person could include are school supplies such as paper and pencils.
“God uses each and every box to impact the lives of the poorest children on this planet,” Jones said. “[These are] children who have never before received a gift —children who can now attend school after receiving the basic school supplies in their shoe box.”
Drop off times at the Niles Adventist School, 110 N. Fairview are as follows:
• Monday, Nov. 14: 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.
• Tuesday, Nov. 15: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Wednesday, Nov. 16: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Thursday, Nov. 17: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Friday, Nov. 18: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 19: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Sunday, Nov. 20: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
• Monday, Nov. 21: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m
Jones said local volunteers would be on site packing and preparing a truck with the gifts.
To find out more, as well as get a guideline for gifts visit https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child.