So my family first started participating in this organization's Operation Christmas Child a few years ago and it's now become a family tradition with us even filling up shoe boxes at home to bring to the processing center and volunteering at the actual processing center.
For those who aren't familiar with Sumaritan's Purse, they are a Christian-base nonprofit that provides aids to areas of need here in the U.S and third world countries. They were actually one of the first responders to bring aid to rural areas that were hit by a big typhoon in Central Vietnam in 2017. Air lifting over 200,000 POUNDS of supplies to the villagers who have lost everything.
Operation Christmas Child is one of their projects that takes place from Nov-Dec. You can watch one of their videos of this operation on YouTube. Which was how I found them actually. The idea is that you take a shoe box and decorate it and fit anything you can into a shoe box for a child in a third world country (socks, soap, toothbrushes, hair brushes, a small toy, pens, pencil).And then you can drop off the shoe boxes at their processing center by a certain deadline (and if you pay for a tracking label) you can track where your shoe box may end up. OR you can sign up to volunteer during the holidays at the processing center to inspect the shoe boxes or even stuff shoe boxes (companies donate supplies that you can put into boxes). The whole operation is so efficient , to watch one group inspect, one group stuff more gifts in light boxes, one group tape and one group organize the shoeboxes into bigger boxes with tracking labels is really a sight to behold. EVERYONE that you come across are EXCEEDINGLY nice and gracious, from the parking attendant, to the front desk/lobby people to the people running the warehouse.
I do understand how Sumaritan's Purse could come as "too much" for people who are not Christians who wants to help. However, I think this organization is truly doing something not just special but extremely meaningful that could change a child's life in a small village some where in the world. With a simple gift from a stranger a world away, to let the child know that they matter, and you you could also include a letter if you wish. Sumaritan's Purse really goes out of their way to deliver the shoeboxes into rural areas often times using elephants to do so!
Operation Christmas Child only goes on from Nov to mid Dec (before Christmas because they have to get the shoeboxes out of the U.S. before than)!
Cheers! read more