As November marks the beginning of the holiday season, holiday cups become a social media staple and store shelves are decked with soon-to-be wrapped presents. Although I love giving gifts to family and friends, this year I want to shift the focus to those that may have not experienced the warmth of the holiday season. For as long as I can remember, my family has participated in Operation Christmas Child to provide shoe boxes filled with necessities to impoverished communities. This holiday, I encourage you to join my family fill up shoe boxes that will provide a sense of hope to less fortunate children worldwide.
Operation Christmas Child began in 1990 as a response to seeing struggling Romanian orphans on television. Founders, Dave and Jill Cooke, knew they could not eradicate the state of poverty in Romania, but they wanted to provide the children living in dire circumstances a sense of relief and hope. After a successful launch, the Cookes partnered with Samaritan’s Purse to obtain a larger platform and garner more involvement in their charitable cause. Inspired by the Bible’s Good Samaritan, the faith-based international relief organization strives to assist and provide hope to individuals enduring war, famine, persecution, disease and disaster regardless of faith, race, gender or economic background.
Get involved by packaging a shoe box tailored to a specific age group (ages 2-4, 5-9 or 10-14). This year, I wanted to fill up a box for a preteen boy. Because I focused on academics and appearances when I was a preteen, I loaded my box with school supplies, toiletries and clothing. When filling up a shoe box, please be aware that these children may come from war torn backgrounds, thus please do not include images or items related to violence (e.g.) toy guns, books about war etc. Furthermore, do not include perishable food items. There is nothing worse than receiving an expired gift. In total, I spent around $25 on one shoe box. Although this may not seem like a lot, these commodities will greatly benefit the recipient.
Before dropping off your completed box, here are some important reminders:
Boxes are due BEFORE NOVEMBER 18. Please ensure you find your local drop-off location before its too late!
Leave an extra $10 enclosed in the package. This donation will aid in shipping and handling costs.
Attach labels. These labels will allow volunteers to easily organize gifts based on gender and age. This allows for your gift to reach the appropriate individual.
This holiday season, I strongly encourage you to give back to those in need. I have been so blessed this past year that I want to spread the warm feeling of love and appreciation back to those that have not or cannot experience it. Operation Christmas Child allows children to feel like children and understand the true meaning of the holiday season.
Candidly,
Jonah
