Gifts needed to fill shoeboxes

By JEAN L. McCORKLE
jmccorkle@daily-review.com
First Baptist Church in Morgan City will once again act as a collection center for donations of gift-filled shoeboxes benefitting Operation Christmas Child.
Janet Kinkle, church secretary, said the church accepts donations all year toward the project, but the official collection week is Nov. 17 to 24 at which time the public and participating organizations can bring completed boxes with $7 toward shipping, items to include in boxes or cash donations toward defraying shipping costs.
Donations can be brought every day between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. that week, except Nov. 23 when donations will be collected between 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., Kinkle said.
“People can fill a box or bring a few things for us to put in our boxes,” Kinkle said.
The church will hold a “packing party” at 6 p.m. Thursday during which volunteers can assist the church in packing its goal of 1,000 boxes with the items collected this year. Gumbo will be served and the public is invited.
Kinkle said that in the average year, about 5,000 boxes are sent around the world from the Tri-City area.
Those boxes go to a warm climate, so donations of winter clothing are not needed.
The church is short on plastic cups, akin to the cups thrown at Mardi Gras, for the boxes.
According to the Samaritan’s Purse website, the organization behind Operation Christmas Child, gift suggestions include:
—Toys: include items that children will immediately embrace such as dolls, toy cars, stuffed animals, kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, jump ropes, balls, toys that light up and make noise (with extra batteries), etc.
—School supplies: pens, pencils and sharpeners, crayons, markers, notebooks, paper, solar calculators, and coloring and picture books, etc.
—Non-liquid hygiene items: toothbrushes, bar soap, combs, washcloths, etc.
—Accessories: socks, T-shirts, hats, sunglasses, hair clips, jewelry, watches, flashlights (with extra batteries), etc.
—A personal note: you may enclose a note to the child and a photo of yourself or your family. If you include your name and address, the child may be able to write back.
—Do not include: used or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives or military figures; chocolate or food; out-of-date candy; liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable items such as snow globes or glass containers; aerosol cans.
“The world’s largest Christmas project of its kind, Operation Christmas Child, uses gift-filled shoeboxes to share God’s love in a tangible way with needy children around the world,” the website states.
Since 1993, Samaritan’s Purse has collected and delivered more than 113 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in over 150 countries through Operation Christmas Child.
In 2014, Samaritan’s Purse hopes to collect enough shoebox gifts to reach another 10 million children through the Operation Christmas Child project, according to the website.
More than 500,000 volunteers worldwide, with more than 100,000 of those in the United States, are involved in collecting, shipping, and distributing shoebox gifts.
Samaritan’s Purse will deliver the gifts to children in more than 100 countries on six continents.