Canadians can keep blessing children through convenient online shoeboxes

Operation Christmas Child's web-based feature accommodates last-minute donations

CALGARY, Nov. 25, 2014 /CNW/ - The 2014 Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child shoebox collection season has ended, but Canadians can still pack and send gift-filled shoeboxes to the developing world by using the Internet. Simply visit PackaBox.ca and donate shoeboxes for $30 each plus $7 each for shipping and other project-related costs.

Canadians who choose this online option begin by deciding whether they want their box to go to a boy or girl. Next, they choose from three age ranges: 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14. Based on those choices, a standard group of items are added to the box. Then the donor can shop for additional items and further personalize the gift by adding a photo and note.

"The opportunity to upload a photo and include a personal message to the child who will receive the box really adds special meaning for the giver and the recipient," said Ben Silcox of Samaritan's Purse.

More than 4,000 gift-filled boxes were donated via PackaBox.ca during the 2013 shoe box season. They made up part of the 664,066 shoeboxes that Canadians packed with gifts that shared God's love and hope with children in the developing world.

Canadians can also challenge each other to pack shoeboxes through the My Shoebox Challenge initiative. This is a convenient way to quickly pack shoeboxes and increase the number of impoverished children who will receive these gifts of love.  

About Samaritan's Purse Canada

Samaritan's Purse is a Christian relief and development organization that takes its name from Jesus Christ's biblical story of the Good Samaritan. Like that Good Samaritan, who found a beaten man and helped restore him, we aid victims of war, disease, disaster, poverty, famine, and persecution. Our other initiatives include providing safe water, literacy skills, vocational training and more for people in the developing world. Learn more at SamaritansPurse.ca.

SOURCE: Samaritan's Purse Canada

To arrange an interview with a local, national, or international representative of Operation Christmas Child, or for more information about online shoeboxes, please contact: Frank King, Communications Manager, Samaritan's Purse Canada, [email protected], 1.800.663.6500 or (cell) 403.990.0161