March 19, 2024

More than 1,400 shoe boxes donated for Operation Christmas Child

Newton Christian Reformed Church along with several Jasper and Poweshiek county churches spent several days collecting and donating shoebox gifts for the Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child organization. In total, the area will have donated more than 1,400 shoe boxes filled with everything from washcloths and soap to toys and cups.

“Very simple, very easy family project that has an impact we can’t even imagine,” Janyce Johnstone, a volunteer said.

The church, which has been involved in the project in past years, collected filled shoe boxes Wednesday through Friday to be boxed and shipped to Des Moines before heading to Minneapolis where the boxes will be sorted and categorized with the story of Jesus placed in the box in the appropriate language. For those boxes that need extra items, many large corporation around the country donate additional items to help fill the boxes.

From there, the boxes will be shipped to more than 140 nations around the world arriving at the final destination by boat, donkey or even elephants. Donations from this area will go to Belize, India, Trinidad and Tobago this year.

“The delight on the children’s faces, they hold up a string of beads and she has never seen anything like it before. We don’t understand what they don’t have,” Johnstone said.

The shoe boxes contain the basics, washcloths, soap, pencils, pens, a cup, water bottle and a toy. Johnstone told a story of a child who received a washcloth in his box and was elated because he previously had been sharing one washcloth with 12 other children.

“There is such a need in the world for this that they will only ever receive one in their lifetime,” Johnstone said.

The organization was started in 1993 by Franklin Graham, President of Samaritan’s Purse and son of Billy Graham. In the past 20 years, more than 113 million children have received a shoe box with 10 million last year alone.

Johnstone said it is a great, easy project for families, especially around the holiday time. It is a wonderful lesson for children to learn as they receive multiple gifts, knowing that it may be the first and only gift the Operation Christmas Child may ever receive.