For the next month Sunshine Coast residents will be turning empty shoeboxes into gifts – filled with toys, school supplies and hygiene items, notes of encouragement, and fun toys such as a doll or juggling balls. Operation Christmas Child will deliver these shoebox gifts to children abroad living in extreme poverty or affected by war, disease and natural disaster.
The Sunshine Coast filled 753 boxes last year, part of a Canada-wide total of 490,471. This year, your shoebox gifts matter more than ever.
When packing a shoebox, you can choose whether it’s a boy or girl, as well as their age. Please visit samaritanspurse.ca/suggested-gifts/ for some great item suggestions. If you are interested in participating, you can pick up empty red and green boxes at Gibsons Building Supplies (both locations), IGA, New Hope Chiropractic, Christ the King, Calvary Chapel in Davis Bay, Bethel Baptist in Sechelt, Fields, Nevermore Toys and Games and Calvary Baptist Church of Gibsons, which is the Coast collection centre at 711 Park Rd. in Gibsons. Filled shoeboxes can be returned to Calvary Baptist Church.
The local deadline to receive the filled shoeboxes is Nov. 15-20.
Organizers thank everyone who participates in this project and those who do so year after year. These simple gifts, packed with love, send a message of hope and continue to transform the lives of children worldwide. If you have any questions, please call the local coordinator, Martha Schroth, at 604-886-8545. Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse. To learn more, visit samaritanspurse.ca.
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