Corpus Christi Back To School Shopping Means Hope for 8 Million Kids Worldwide

July 29, 2010 - PRLog -- CORPUS CHRISTI, July 29, 2010—Kids in the Corpus Christi area are learning something surprising about back-to-school shopping—it is not just a time to fill their book bags and closets, it is also a great opportunity to fill shoe boxes to help children in need around the world.

It may seem like an unusual addition to the annual back-to-school shopping spree, but through Operation Christmas Child families can make a real difference to a child in need by simply keeping the box from their new school shoes and filling it with small gifts.  Operation Christmas Child plans to hand-deliver shoe box gifts to more than 8 million struggling children in 100 countries this year.  An effort that massive means the project needs the help of Corpus Christi families, not only during the holidays, but also right now.

"The school supplies packed in these simple shoe box gifts often provide children with their only opportunity to attend school,” said Mark Cooper, Texas/Louisiana Regional Director for Operation Christmas Child.  “I'm excited that with back to school deals, I can multiply the number of shoe boxes I pack!”

Operation Christmas Child, a project of international relief and evangelism organization Samaritan’s Purse, headed by Franklin Graham, encourages volunteers to fill simple shoe boxes with toys, necessity items, school supplies, candy and hand-written notes of encouragement.  The gifts are then shared with children worldwide who are suffering because of natural disaster, disease, war, terrorism, famine and poverty.  For many of these children, the shoe box gift will be the first gift they have ever received, letting them know they are loved and not forgotten.

Why now—months before the holiday season?
Operation Christmas Child is not limited to just a few weeks a year.  It is a year-round project, requiring months of organization and preparation to reach millions of kids around the world.  Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has distributed shoe box gifts to more than 77 million hurting children in some 130 countries.  

HOW CAN I HELP NEEDY KIDS WORLDWIDE?  It’s Simple!

   PREPARE—Help enlist families, churches, scout troops, community groups and businesses to take advantage of back-to-school sales by collecting discounted school supplies for shoe box gifts.  
   PACK—Fill shoe boxes with school supplies, toys, necessity items, hard candy and a letter of encouragement.  
Step-by-step shoe box packing instructions are available at www.samaritanspurse.org.
 
For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call 817-595-2230 or visit www.samaritanspurse.org.  National Collection Week for gift-filled shoe boxes is Nov. 15-22; however, shoe box gifts are collected all year at the Samaritan’s Purse headquarters in Boone, N.C.

# # #

A project of internation relief organization Samaritan's Purse, Operation Christmas Child will hand-deliver some 8 million shoe box gifts to hurting children in more than 100 countries this year. It is literally the world's largest Christmas project.