Share hope with children overseas through gift-filled shoeboxes next week

National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes runs from Nov. 16 to 22; Canadians set to bless hurting children overseas through the power of a simple gift

CALGARY, Nov. 12, 2015 /CNW/ - The 2015 Operation Christmas Child shoebox collection season reaches its pinnacle this week, as thousands of Canadians drop off their gift-filled shoeboxes to be sent overseas. National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child (a project of Samaritan's Purse) runs from Nov. 16 to 22 and designated collection centers across Canada are ready to receive shoeboxes packed with love.

The campaign kicked off on Oct. 13 and has seen volunteers and supporters across Canada hosting and attending shoebox packing parties, parades, fundraisers, school-, church-, and club-led initiatives, and even Operation Christmas Child-themed birthday parties.

Canadians participating in Operation Christmas Child have been choosing whether they want their shoeboxes to go to a boy or girl, and picking one of the three age ranges (2-4, 5-9, or 10-14) before filling the boxes with school supplies, hygiene items, and toys, plus a $7 suggested donation for shipping and other project costs. Many donors have also included a note to the recipient child, and a photo of their family the child will treasure.

"Operation Christmas Child is a simple but profound way for Canadians to express their thankfulness at Christmas time by blessing a struggling child in a developing nation who lacks the basic things we so easily take for granted," said Samaritan's Purse Executive Director Fred Weiss. "We also can express Jesus' love."

It's not too late to pack a shoebox for this year. Visit SamaritansPurse.ca/occ and click on the Collection Center locator map to enter your postal code and locate your drop-off point. You can also call 1-800-303-1269 to get Collection Center information.

Online Shoeboxes: Canadians can also pack shoeboxes online—and add personal notes and photos—at PackABox.ca up to and beyond Christmas day.

Last year, Canadians filled more than 700,000 Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes with gifts destined for children in the developing world. Globally, Samaritan's Purse exceeded 113 million shoeboxes packed and distributed in over 130 countries since we took over the ministry in 1993.

The shoebox is just the beginning, because Operation Christmas Child is creating opportunities for Samaritan's Purse to provide other help to children, their families, and their communities through clean drinking water, literacy and job skills initiatives, feeding programs, medical care, and more.

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. Besides Operation Christmas Child, our initiatives include providing safe water, vocational skills, and agricultural supplies and training to families in the developing world. Learn more at SamaritansPurse.ca.

SOURCE Samaritan's Purse Canada

Media Inquiries: Frank King, Communications Manager, 403-250-6565 (work) or 403-990-0161 (mobile), [email protected]