Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child

Samaritan's Purse

Today my girls and I had the opportunity to volunteer with Samaritan's Purse. We drove to their Southern California processing center in Corona, CA to help prepare shoeboxes full of gifts for shipment to the Philippines and Indonesia. When we left at 6:00, this facility had processed around 35,000 boxes today and had the goal of around 55,000 boxes by 11:00 tonight. You can see in my photos how large this processing center is! 

Samaritan's Purse does this every year. People everywhere get shoeboxes and load them up with presents for a child in need. The boxes might include toothbrushes, socks, t-shirts, flashlights, stuffed animals, puzzles, coloring books, markers, etc. The boxes are collected at churches and various places and they make their way to a processing center to be checked over and boxed for shipment. Every shoebox is opened, the contents approved (no liquids, breakables, etc), the box is then taped shut and boxed in a larger box with other shoeboxes for the same gender/age child. We also prayed for the children that will receive these gifts.

Here we are at the end of our 4 hour shift.

This large poster shows the process a shoebox goes through.

Here is a giant photo of kids with their boxes in Camaroon.

This photo shows about 70% of the space we were in.

Some of the stations of tables for processing the boxes.

Here is our table. My daughter is the blonde in the middle.

The other side of our table. With my other daughter in the short-sleeved grey t-shirt.

Opening these shoeboxes was often a very touching experience. We saw what people had selected for their gifts to a child. Many had hand-written notes in them. Some had a photo of the sender. There were several very creative selections. We were very careful to pack them back up very neatly even though we were working quickly. Only items that were not able to be shipped overseas were removed. Unfortunately, things like toothpaste and glue have to be removed because of these shipping restrictions. Companies had donated items to fill in if needed. There were stuffed toys, some shoes, balls, etc to be added to boxes if original items had to be removed. Items that were removed were set aside to be sent to U.S. based ministries that don't have to restrict what they give due to shipping constraints. 

Samaritan's Purse had everything so organized. The processing center was spotless and wonderfully laid out. The "coaches" that worked with the volunteers were very polite and helpful. It was a great experience. I highly recommend it!

The thing I learned today that struck me was that once a child receives a Christmas Shoebox, that will probably be the only one they ever get. Churches and ministries may wait 3 years to receive boxes for their people. This year boxes are going to the Philippines and Indonesia. Other years they go to other places. Each box is given with a book about the "best gift of all", Jesus. And children are invited to a discipleship class for several weeks to learn about Christ and His great love for them and their families. 

If you like to prepare shoeboxes, or would consider preparing some for next year, they group the boxes into 6 categories. Boys and Girls in age groups as follows: 2-4 years old, 5-9 years old, 10-14 years old. There are always more gift boxes for girls than boys. And most of the boxes are for the 5-9 year olds. The group that receives the least amount of gift boxes is boys, ages 10-14. So, you might want to consider doing a box for them.