Boxes go around the world
Wanda English Burnett
Sharon Martin, (yellow top standing left) and Rev. Troy Green, standing right, say a prayer of dedication over the 372 shoe boxes the Dabney Baptist Church prepared to send to children as part of the Franklin Graham Ministries - Operation Shoe Box.
This week is the official National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse. There are nearly 5,000 drop-off locations across the country, according to Emily Kannapell, spokesperson for the group.
One of the ministries at the Dabney Baptist Church is preparing shoe boxes full of “goodies” for children less fortunate. “Every shoe box gift is an opportunity to tell a boy or girl that God loves them. That’s why we do what we do,” noted Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse.
Sharon Martin heads up the effort at the local church and many other churches in the community participate as well. Hopewell Baptist Church is the location for local churches to drop off their boxes. They were awarded a plaque for being a drop-off center for the past 10 years.
Martin explained that Roger Stratton and Donna Perry had purchased the sturdy plastic shoe boxes that make a gift all by themselves to fill. The small group works year around, and Martin said she has lots of help with Eileen Rayburn being a steady. When Roger found out that not all children get a shoebox, he wanted to make more! Even though massive amounts are made and sent each year the need is still great. Martin said each box touches 30 or more people – friends, family, the people who pack them and the ones who check them and deliver them to the children. It’s an amazing process many hands have had a part in.
Operation Christmas Child has been collecting and delivering shoe box gifts to children worldwide for more than three decades. In a press release from the organization, it was noted they are hoping to collect enough to help reach another 12 million children. They partner with local churches to “deliver these tangible expressions of God’s love to children in need.”
Martin noted that the shoe boxes from Dabney are headed to Mexico. It costs $10.00 per box to mail, but the effort seems to be one that people are willing to continue giving to after all this time. The boxes are filled with hope. They have clothing items, shoes, trinkets, various things children would enjoy – mostly just telling them they are loved. “I’m thankful for every single person who packs a shoebox because these simple gifts open the door for the Gospel,” Graham concluded.
While Dabney knows their boxes are a small amount in the grand scheme of things, they also know it’s a big project for a smaller church. Martin is thankful for everyone who helps in any way to get the boxes done.
If you’d like to contribute by shopping online you can go to samaritanspurse.org/buildonline to select gifts matched to a child’s specific age and gender, then finish packing the virtual shoebox by adding a photo and personal note of encouragement. Shoe box gifts built online go to the ends of the earth to children in some of the hardest-to-reach places – whether deep jungles, city slums, steep mountainsides, or one of the more than 1,000 remote Pacific Islands.
Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 232 million gift-filled shoe boxes to children in more than 170 countries and territories.
