Operation Christmas Child Returns!

Wednesday, 23 October 2024 06:55

The shoeboxes collected in Woodstock and Ingersoll will be shipped out the week of November 18th.

WOODSTOCK/INGERSOLL - The season of giving is fast approaching, so it's time to start packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.

It's a project through Samaritans Purse, where people pack shoeboxes with gifts for children living in impoverished areas and war-torn countries.

Lynda Plummer, one of the volunteers for the Woodstock and Ingersoll campaign, gives us some examples of toys you could pack.

"Hot wheels, marbles, skipping ropes, toy stuffies are a huge hit, dolls, and just any small toy that you think a child would like. Sometimes people, and we've done this too, deflate a soccer ball and put a pump in for it. Even if you hardly get anything else in, the kids love it!"

She says you can also pack school supplies, a hairbrush, a toothbrush, or a bar of soap. The list of items that won't be accepted include candy, liquids, and war-related items (toy guns, toy soldiers, etc.)

When you decide to fill a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child, you get to choose if your shoebox will be going to a boy or a girl. You also get to choose one of three age ranges; two to four, five to nine, and 10 to 14. This will give you some direction as to what you should pack.

Plummer explains where you can find the shoeboxes.

"In Woodstock or Ingersoll you can pick them at Connect Hearing or Enjoy Travel and also the Fire Hall in Ingersoll. You can return them to those places if you have less than 10. If it's over 10, we ask that you take them to Movement Church on Lansdowne Ave in Woodstock."

The shoeboxes will be shipped between November 18th and November 24th. The boxes packed in Canada will be sent to nine different countries covering Central America, west Africa, Ukraine and the Philippines. It will be months before the shoeboxes arrive at their destinations.

Over 1,700 shoeboxes were packed in Woodstock and Ingersoll last year, and Plummer would like to send out 2,000 this year. You can find more information about Operation Christmas Child online here or by calling Plummer at 519-485-1480.

Lynda Plummer stopped by the Heart FM studio to chat with Dan and Marcie on Friday October 18th. You can listen to the full interview below: