Just Under 8 Million Shoe Boxes Collected!
Operation Christmas Child Reports 2008 Campaign Results
Samaritan’s Purse, the worldwide Christian relief and gospel proclamation organization, has published a report on Operation Christmas Child for its 2008 campaign. Despite a sharp economic downturn that began in September, people from several countries managed to put together 7,967,001 shoe boxes which have been or are now being delivered to children in more than one hundred countries.
11 Countries Participate
According to Samaritan’s Purse, people from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Netherlands and Finland packed shoe boxes filled with toys, stuffed animals, personal goods, candy, educational supplies and more. In addition, Samaritan’s Purse included millions of copies of a gospel storybook — The Greatest Gift of All — which were printed in 52 languages and made available in 75 countries.
An 18 Page Special Report
Samaritan’s Purse developed an 18-page special report which reviewed the 2008 campaign offering an overview of the program while taking readers behind the scenes of various distribution projects.
You can read about how children in war torn Georgia were blessed by your gifts; a story about Mincaye of the Waorani Indians who killed Christian missionaries in 1956, but loves Jesus today; learn about a small town in Texas, Rosebud, and their out of proportion contribution to Operation Christmas Child and much more.
2009 Campaign Scheduled
Many people think that the shoe box campaign is limited to one week in November when boxes are packed, collected and delivered to regional Operation Christmas Child distribution centers. While it is true that the bulk of boxes arrive over the last few months of the year, they can be sent directly to Samaritan Purse’s headquarters at any time of the year:
Samaritan’s Purse
Operation Christmas Child
801 Bamboo Road
Boone, NC 28607
Or, if you like, you can simply send in a financial contribution which will help defray the cost of distributing shoe boxes.
The 2009 collection campaign will run from November 16-23, but I know dates vary from country to country. Check with your local Samaritan’s Purse office to learn when your campaign will be held.
Finally, why not spearhead your own collection drive through your church, group or civic organization? You can encourage people to collect items all year and then set up a date later where everyone comes together to pack their boxes. What a great way to involve people of all ages by helping them make a difference in a child’s life.
“Who is like you among the gods, O LORD? Who is like you? You are glorious because of your holiness and awe-inspiring because of your splendor. You perform miracles Exodus 15:11 (GWT).
Source: Samaritan’s Purse
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What a wonderful thing to do! These children must be very happy when they received the shoe box. I knew because I was very happy when I received gifts of any kind on Christmas. Thank you for the heartening news.
I love this program! Great stuff.
@ shark — OCC is one of my favorite programs too. I can’t wait for the next chance to give!
@ BK — I’m sure for some children that the shoe boxes are the first new gifts they’ve ever received. What a wonderful chance to bless children, making a difference in their lives.
great news! And what a wonderful program! Blessings, Ingrid