Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse, held its annual local/regional kick-off event this past Saturday morning, September 11, in Somerset.

The annual shoebox drive delivers gift boxes of small toys, hygiene items and other necessities to impoverished children around the world, while at the same time spreading a gospel message to millions.

The annual kick-off is usually held in local locations and has been a mainstay at Albany First Baptist Church for many years.

Kathy Conner, local coordinator, explained that the national organization decided to “regionalize” the kick-off event in central locations this year and let each area go back and distribute information and supplies to their own local areas to make the program more uniform.

Conner noted that locally, they had all materials needed for anyone who wished to participate in filling a shoebox and all other information people might need.

She noted that last year’s totals, due to the COVID pandemic, were down, with 1,196 shoeboxes being collected and shipped from this area, with national totals being 9.1 million.

There will be no set goals for the county this year, but each individual church may set their own. However, Conner stressed that not only churches participate in collecting shoeboxes for the children.

Groups such as school groups, civic organizations and others are encouraged to participate and she added that each year, many individuals fill boxes on their own.

Another change this year is the collection drop-off location, which has usually been at First Baptist. This year, the shoebox drop-off will be at Stony Point Baptist Church (Activity Center) from November 15 to 21 with hours for drop-offs to be announced.

Conner encouraged churches and anyone participating to begin now, as the drop-off time is only two months away.

Shoeboxes will be going to basically the same countries, with hopes of getting many to countries that have not been able to receive them in the past. She also added that the Pacific Islands would receive special emphasis this year.

Once loaded from local collection points, they are taken to North Carolina and then shipped to countries around the world.

Boxes that were collected last year went to at least five countries, including Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Peru and South Africa.

Conner noted that the shoebox project was something anyone of any age could do, and many people begin filling boxes little by little throughout the year.

The primary things that are usually packed for the children include such items as one small toy, such as a car, doll, stuffed animal, etc., personal hygiene items such as toothbrushes, washcloths, combs and hairbrushes, and school supplies, such as pens, pencils, crayons, markers, notebooks and so forth.

“People don’t have to get everything on the list,” noted Conner, just enough to fill a box.

She did note the cost of shipping per box was still $9 to help offset transportation costs, adding that shipping such a box individually to some countries may cost upwards in the $60 range.

Samaritan’s Purse, whose president and CEO is Reverend Franklin Graham, is based in Boone, North Carolina, and they respond to the physical and spiritual needs of individuals in crisis situations–especially in situations where few others are working.

Operation Christmas Child (OCC), which began in the 1990s, is part of the Samaritan’s Purse outreach. It began with a request to fill shoeboxes with gifts for children in war torn Bosnia.

Since 1993, more than 188 million children in over 170 countries and territories have received a shoebox gift with the help of more than 15,000 volunteers.

As mentioned, a new emphasis this year will be on the Pacific Islands with the goal of serving a half million children over a 1,000 island span by 2023. It is also hoped that 250 previously non-reachable groups of children will benefit, with another 150 hard to reach countries and 50 hard to reach nations included this year..

The 2021 goal nationally is to collect shoebox gifts to reach an additional 9.7 million children.

Anyone wishing to participate in the local Operation Christmas Child shoebox collection who needs materials or any other information, may contact Conner by calling 606-387-5909 and if no answer, leave a message and she will return your call.

For more information about Samaritan’s Purse, visit samaritanspurse.org.