Operation Christmas Child, a Christian oriented ministry that aims at giving less fortunate children across the world a “Christmas” and hope, has again kicked off another year in Albany and Clinton County.

The official start began Sunday night, August 27 at Albany First Baptist Church where about 170 people attended to get the event underway, and also enjoyed a performance by the always popular Omega Force Strength Team.

One of the local event’s long-time organizers, Kathy Conner, said on Monday she was well pleased with the number attending, although possibly slightly lower than last year due to part to the weather. She said more churches, around 10, were represented on Sunday…not counting First Baptist itself.

In 2015, a record number of 1,865 shoeboxes for the Clinton and Cumberland County area was collected and shipped to children in five different countries. This year an even loftier goal of 2,016 has been set.

Operation Christmas Child has been ongoing for about a decade and Clinton County used to be part of the Monticello area drive, but the response grew so rapidly with so many local participants, Clinton County now has its own Relay Center at Albany First Baptist, which has been hosting it now for the past five years.

Conner said the location of this year’s shoebox gifts won’t be known until around the first of November, but added the “first shoebox” has already been turned in and several area churches collect items year-round and fill the boxes for shipment in the fall.

The items collected locally are taken to the transfer station in Somerset, where they are trucked to Beacon Hill, North Carolina for processing and then shipped to the targeted overseas countries.

Nationwide last year, Conner said some 8,765,637 shoeboxes filled with love, hope and not to mention sanitary items, school supplies and small toys were shipped abroad to some 109 different countries (with some other locations not listed due to security reasons.)

Because of the global situation, beginning in 2017, a few items that are now allowed…due to security…will be banned, including candy, due to the dangers of it getting laced with drugs, and toothpaste, which Conner said is about the size of something an explosive device such as a detonator, could be placed in.

The OCC drive is definitely not only for churches, although many participate all year long, but several individuals, school groups and civic organizations take part and Conner urges these groups and individuals to consider doing the shoeboxes as a civic project. She noted that anyone needing not only information, but supplies to help fill the boxes, including materials, address labels, etc. to contact her or come by the church.

Operation Christmas Child, a Samaritan’s Purse Christian ministry, is headed by Rev. Franklin Graham, son of Rev. Billy Graham, and caters to needy children around the world and is now in its ninth year in Clinton County.

The primary shoebox collection week is usually the third Thursday in November.

The kick-offs are held to start the primary focus of the drive and as a means of getting new ideas, and giving information about the project, distribution trips, and number of lives the program touched the previous year.

In all, 126 countries receive items and generally are packed in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany.

Persons who fill and donate are asked to donate $7 to help ship the boxes. In 2014, some 21 churches in Clinton County took part, and in the Lake Cumberland area, over 15,000 boxes were donated.

The program benefits needy children ages two to 14 and items needed include, but are not limited to: toys, stuffed animals, pencils, crayons, notebooks, hygiene items such as soap (Ivory preferred), combs, shoes (such as sandals), toothpaste (this year only), other clothing items, wash cloths, hats, hair bands, t-shirts, sunglasses and more.

For more information about the local OCC drive, contact Conner or the First Baptist Church, and for more information on Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Christmas Child, log on to www.samaritanspurse.org or www.samaritanspurse.org/occ or call 1-800-353-5949.