It is the season for the Samaritan's Purse Canada 2013 Operation Christmas Child shoebox collection to begin.
Shoeboxes and brochures are available in Weyburn at the Real Canadian Wholesale Club, Elite Kitchens, Dollarama and Weyburn Co-op Foods.
Weyburn area coordinator Bev Alexander says box packing parties have become increasingly popular within the community.
"I attended a couple box packing parties last year, and we packed between 90 and 100 boxes," Alexander said.
People may drop their packed boxes at the Free Methodist Church during the week of November 18-24.
Samaritan's Purse will deliver the gift filled shoeboxes to children around the world living in the midst of poverty, disease, war and natural disaster.
Last year, Canadians filled more than 662,000 shoeboxes with gifts for children in the developing world. And since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and distributed more than 100 million shoebox gifts around the globe.
"We are asking Canadians from coast to coast to join us again this year in packing and donating gift filled shoeboxes. There are millions of needy children still waiting to receive a shoebox which is often the first gift they'll ever have," said Fred Weiss, executive director for Samaritan's Purse Canada.
For two decades, Operation Christmas Child has been a vital project of Samaritan's Purse. The Christian relief and development organization provides physical and spiritual aid to hurting people worldwide. Gift filled shoeboxes open doors for Samaritan's Purse to provide others to help children, their families and their communities in the form of clean water, literacy and job skills initiatives, feeding programs, medical care and more.
