Local churches acting as relay centers for Christmas shoeboxes |

11/18/2015 News

Local churches acting as relay centers for Christmas shoeboxes

Children from Clemson Presbyterian Church have fun at a recent packing party for Operation Christmas Child.

COUNTY — It’s that time of year again when several churches in Pickens County will serve as drop-off sites for collection of gift-filled shoeboxes.

Operation Christmas Child, a division of Samaritan’ s Purse, is the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind. The gift-filled shoe boxes are a tangible way to demonstrate God’s love to needy children around the world.[cointent_lockedcontent]

Carol Avery helps load shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.

Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 124 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in over 150 countries. Last year, the United States collected 10 million shoe boxes, a huge jump from the 28,000 collected in 1993. The Upstate packed more than 53,000 shoeboxes last year, and of that amount, Pickens county contributed 11,000.

It’s not too late too late to pack a shoebox for this year. Items in the shoeboxes usually include toys, school supplies non-liquid hygiene items and personal items, hard candy and notes of encouragement. A donation of $7 per box is requested for shipping. More information for packing a shoebox can be found at www.samaritanspurse.org and click on Operation Christmas Child. In 2015, Operation Christmas Child hopes to collect enough shoebox gifts to reach another 11 million children. Any of the following Relay centers will be open during National Collection Week and will have volunteers ready to accept the shoeboxes.