INDIANAPOLIS — Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box is underway—a chance to help children who might not otherwise have a very happy holiday.
And the yearly effort is not slowing down because of the pandemic. In fact, the need is greater this year than in the past.
The relief agency Samaritan's purse is behind Operation Christmas Child, and they need organizations and individuals to pack more shoe box items than ever.
Here's what you can do: Fill a shoe box with school supplies, hygiene items such as a wash cloth and soap. Don't forget toys, such as a stuffed animals or a soccer ball with pump. And include a little something about yourself.
"One of those most important things is a photo or a note. When I went to Rwanda, when we would open the boxes with the children, they looked for a note or a picture because it makes you a real person," said Amber Best, Operation Christmas Child Area Coordinator. "It's very abstract to them. This makes you a real person and a note to tell them how special that they really are is absolutely precious."
Best said much of what we take for granted, such as school supplies, are very special to these children. "We heard a story of a young man recently who received a shoe box. He received pencils for the first time in his life that were actually just his and that they were not used. So just having pencils or colored pencils in a school pack that they're ready to go to school is a blessing of a gift."
Because of the pandemic, the organization is doing curbside drop-offs at 12 Central Indiana locations.
You can find the spots and more information about Operation Christmas Child at this link:
https://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/pack-a-shoe-box/
Shoe box collections runs through next Monday, November 23. The nationwide goal is just over 9 million boxes.