By Meghan Mathias, Staff Writer
Operation Christmas Child has one goal in mind when they are collecting items: the children who are going to receive the gifts that we have the ability to buy for them. Saint Leo is participating this year in ‘Operation Christmas Child’ (OCC) which is being sponsored by the Circle K club (a club that promotes volunteerism and helping the community and beyond).
OCC is an organization that is part of the Samaritan’s Purse, founded by Bob Pierce and now led by the admired Franklin Graham. Samaritan’s Purse is based on the parable that is in Luke 10 that speaks of the Good Samaritan and it has been their mission to go around the world to a variety of countries to help people who are in need and if applicable help the people who are trying to recover from natural disasters or war-torn countries.
Operation Christmas Child is an event that students can participate in that is easy to do while also making a huge impact on a child’s life in another country, who does not have the same luxury of the many things that are taken for granted in America. To partake in ‘Operation Christmas Child’, all that is required is a shoebox that is wrapped in paper (or it can be unwrapped), a label that designates whether it is for a boy or a girl, and the age group that it is for (the ages range from 2 to 14 years old), items to fill the shoebox to the brim that will bring immense delight to the child such as toys, school supplies, hygiene products (such as toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, washcloths, etc,), candy, t-shirts, gum, among other things. Any of the items that are going to be sent have to be able to fit in the box and be sustainable through the journey (nothing that will melt, deteriorate, etc.).
A letter and a picture of yourself can also be included if a person desires to tell the child how much that they care about them, that they are going to be praying for them, and that they hope that they enjoy the items. If a return address is included in the letter, the child may even be able to write you back for the items that you bought them, which is such an amazing concept. A seven-dollar donation should be included in the box because this small fee covers the cost of shipping and other project fees that may occur. The fee can be included in the box or online at www.samaritanspurse.org, which gives all the information about OCC if you wanted more. If the fee is given online there is an interactive feature that is included. An e-mail will be sent to the e-mail address that you provide and it will contain a barcode which will allow the giver to track their box and see which country it goes to, to allow a child some happiness from the gifts that they are going to receive.
The packing week at Saint Leo occurs from November 7-14 and concludes with a packing party at the general meeting of the Circle K Club on the 14th at 7:30. If you miss the week that Saint Leo is participating, there is still a way to play a part by going to the website and looking up places that are collecting items that are near the zip code that you provide.
