As winter and the Christmas season approach, one organization is preparing for another year of generosity and caring for others. The Operation Christmas Child campaign is set to take place, again, this coming November. Jillian Ursu, logistics co-ordinator for Estevan and the surrounding area, encouraged donations from anyone able to do so.
The campaign entails the collection of a variety of different gifts, such as hygiene items, school supplies or toys, to be sent to children in need, living warn-torn or impoverished countries. These items are shipped to those children in shoeboxes.
“We pack them every year around Christmastime, and anybody can pack them— individuals, groups, churches, organizations,” said Ursu. “We send them off to a variety of different countries.”
The countries to which the program will send boxes this year include: Haiti, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Chile, Uruguay, Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea.
Shoeboxes are available at the local collection centre in Estevan, located at the Estevan Alliance Church. It will serve as the collection point for the city and communities in the surrounding area. Ursu noted that a $7 donation would assist with the shipping costs for the gift-filled shoebox.
The collection of shoeboxes for shipping will take place between Nov. 14-20, where they will be packed at the Estevan Alliance Church, sent to a processing centre and distributed to children in need around the world.
This year, Ursu said Operation Christmas Child will be holding an initiative in which they will be sending extra boxes to Ukraine.
“It’s just a little something extra. Those boxes, especially, we mark them with an extra tag because in those boxes you can include some extra winter items, like Kleenex or heavy socks and things for children,” she said.
For those who wish to donate this year, there are three different age groups to which shoeboxes filled for: the ages two to four group, the ages five to nine group and the ages 10 to 14 group.
“It’s for boys or girls, so you can choose and pack your shoeboxes, and if you go to samaritanspurse.ca, there’s lots of really awesome suggestions as to what you can include,” said Ursu.
Ursu also said there are a few items that are prohibited from being donated this year, due to security risks in shipping. These include any kind of candy and toothpaste.
“Toothbrushes, soap and soap containers, wash cloths and all those kinds of things are really great to put in there though, because a lot of these kids don’t have any of that kind of stuff,” she said. “Of course, anything like little trinkets they’d enjoy. Things like little cars, stuffed animals or skipping ropes or soccer balls or anything along those lines.”
Ursu said the program was a good opportunity for families to go out shopping together, to get local children involved in the decisions of what to put in the boxes. She recommended a combination of items in each shoebox, and noted that the the children they will be sent to don’t get a lot of gifts, and the donations will have a significant impact for them.
“A lot of these items will be the only gift they’re going to get, but they also have needs. Having a combination of both hygiene items, school supplies and some fun things will be good,” said Ursu. “These kids aren’t necessarily going to get a lot of presents from people in their community, so it’s a big thing for them.
“It shows them that they’re loved by people across the world, and that there’s somebody thinking about them."
