Operation Christmas Child NY North Central Area Coordinator Patty Jennings (third from left) recently spoke with Brownville United Methodist Church members who donate gift-filled shoe boxes to the world’s largest Christmas project, an outreach effort of the Samaritan’s Purse organization led by Dr. Billy Graham’s son Franklin Graham. Pictured from left are Bonnie Gertsenschlager, June McCartin, Patty Jennings, Wanda Dupee, Blanche Livingston, Sharon Potter, and Nancy Roberts.
(Brownville, NY) The 2010 National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child is Nov. 15 to 22, the week before Thanksgiving. The United Methodist Church Women of Brownville are among the North Country groups who donate gift-filled shoe boxes to the project that is the world’s largest Christmas project and a part of the international Christian relief and evangelism organization Samaritan’s Purse, headed by Dr. Billy Graham’s son Franklin Graham.
On Sunday, June 27, the Brownville United Methodist Church Women celebrated the start of their Operation Christmas Child effort as their summer project. The early start enables the church members who go south for the winter to pack boxes before they leave. The group has packed as many as 60 boxes in one year.
“We have already begun collecting toothpaste and teddy bears, school supplies and soap, yo-yos, jump ropes and other small toys to pack into shoe boxes and shoe box-size plastic containers,” says project coordinator Nancy Roberts.
The boxes will be labeled for a boy or girl 2-4 years old, 5-9 years old or 10-14 years old. A $7 donation per box helps with shipping and handling expenses. The boxes collected at the Watertown relay center at New Life Christian Church on Arsenal Street will be taken to the Boonville collection center and loaded onto a tractor trailer for transport to an Operation Christmas Child processing center in Charlotte, NC.
Operation Christmas Child Area Coordinator Patty Jennings says, “We love to see groups begin their gift packing effort early in the year. They can take advantage of different sales on school supplies, hygiene items and toys and their efforts inspire other organizations, schools, churches, and groups to get started as well.”
Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has distributed shoe box gifts to more than 77 million children in some 130 countries. Operation Christmas Child is a year-round project, requiring months of organization and preparation to reach millions of kids around the world. Volunteers and shoe box gifts are needed during all seasons to help spread Christmas cheer and the spirit of giving that lasts all year long.
For more information about Operation Christmas Child, contact Area Coordinator Patty Jennings at 315-232-2690. Information is online at http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/ .
