As Thanksgiving Day approaches, Williston Park families are expressing their gratitude by giving back. Residents are filling shoeboxes with fun toys, school supplies and hygiene items to send to children in need around the world. For many of these children, it will be the first gift they have ever received.
During Operation Christmas Child’s National Collection Week Nov. 12 through 19, local residents will collect shoebox gifts at drop-off locations serving Williston Park participants. The Samaritan’s Purse project, partnering with churches worldwide, will deliver these gifts to children affected by war, disease, disaster, poverty and famine. The NY Nassau Area Team volunteers hope to collect more than 20,000 gifts during the week.
“We believe these simple gifts have the ability to send a tangible message of hope to children facing difficult circumstances,” said Regional Director Cecil Pollydore. “It is exciting to see the Williston Park community come together to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with millions of boys and girls around the world.”
Williston Park residents are not alone in their effort to help children around the world. More than 150,000 U.S. volunteers including families, churches and other groups are joining forces to contribute to the largest Christmas project of its kind. In 2018, Samaritan’s Purse hopes to collect enough Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts to reach 11 million children.
For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call 518-437-0690, or visit samaritanspurse.org/occ. Participants can donate $9 per shoebox gift online through “Follow Your Box” and receive a tracking label to discover its destination. Those who prefer the convenience of online shopping can browse samaritanspurse.org/buildonline to select gifts matched to a child’s specific age and gender, then finish packing the virtual shoebox by adding a photo and personal 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 157 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 160 countries and territories.
