St. Peters residents prepare for collection of 17,000 gifts for children overseas

Volunteers from St. Peters and surrounding counties will celebrate the kick-off of Operation Christmas Child’s collection season Sept.17 at St. Paul’s Evangelical Free Church, 9801 Olive Blvd. in St. Louis from 9 a.m. to Noon.

Shoebox gifts—filled with toys, hygiene items, school supplies and notes of encouragement—will be packed throughout the fall and collected at several area locations Nov. 14 ­– 21. They will then begin their journey to children overseas who are suffering from poverty, natural disaster, war, terror, disease and famine.

The Operation Christmas Child Countdown Event features guest speaker Kim Underwood, afternoon host on JOY-FM. Kim participated in an Operation Christmas Child Vision Trip to Grenada where she helped deliver shoebox gifts to children in need.

“Countdown is a great time of fellowship with all of the area partners who pack shoebox gifts for the hurting children of the world,” said Janet Howard, St. Charles Area Team coordinator. This year volunteers from the St. Louis Area Team and the St. Charles Area Team will join together to share information and ideas for participating in this exciting program. The St. Charles MO Area Team covers St. Charles, Lincoln, Montgomery and Warren Counties.

Information, updates and Operation Christmas Child supplies will also be provided to equip volunteers to pack shoebox gifts and encourage others to do the same.

Drop-off locations in Missouri will be the first stop on a journey across the world for thousands of gifts packed by local residents. The boxes are then prepared and delivered to children overseas using whatever means necessary—boats, airplanes, trains and even elephants.

For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call Janet Howard at 314-291-0983 or visit samaritanspurse.org/occ. By going online to give the suggested donation of $7 per shoebox gift, participants can follow their box to discover where in the world it will be delivered. They can also pack a shoebox gift online and even upload a photo and note of encouragement.

Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham. The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 135 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 150 countries and territories. For many of these children, the gift-filled shoebox is the first gift they have ever received.