And that means plenty of children living in difficult situations all over the world will have a little brighter Christmas thanks to the generosity of those in Moose Jaw and across Canada.
The premise is simple. Take a shoebox, fill it with toys, school supplies, hygiene items and a personal note if you wish, drop it off at the Alliance Church or Victory Church. They’ll be shipped to Calgary from there, and distributed to struggling children in West Africa and Central America.
And know that through a few simple items, you’ve possibly changed a life — especially if you’ve added a special toy that will bring many hours of fun.
“We want this to make the child smile,” said local Operation Christmas Child organizer Mary Ellen Wilis. “School supplies are necessary, hygiene stuff is really appreciated, but they need a ‘wow’ toy in there. Something that they can love and take their mind off of the hardship they’re going through. So we’re looking at dolls and soccer balls and stuffies, of course, little cars… anything that will make a child smile.”
Even beyond the fun items, the importance of the boxes to recipients can’t be overstated. A box of pencils or crayons, a brand-new toothbrush and anything else like it can make a huge difference.
“It kind of blows your mind when you see how important a pencil or toothbrush is,” Ellis said. “When they go to school, they learn what a toothbrush is, but when they go home, they might share one with eight other people in the house. A pencil, it’s usually cut by the teacher into seven pieces so they all have a nub to write with. So when they get a handful of pencils that’s all their own, it’s really special.
“Then you give them a little ball, it might be something one of our kids would play with for 10 minutes, but for them, it would be a lifetime of fun. So it is kind of amazing to see what an impact it makes on these kids. Not just in that moment.”
Supporters are encouraged to start building their boxes now. A regular run-of-the-mill shoebox will suffice, and Gemmel Shoes in Moose Jaw often has spare boxes on hand. Official boxes can be picked up at the Alliance Church, Victory Church and Church of God as well as the Dollar Tree and Dollar Store.
Ellis is hoping local support will be as strong as it has been in the past, in spite of what might be a late start for some due to the ongoing pandemic.
“A lot of people aren’t even sure if the program is going on,” Elllis said. “Dollar Tree has boxes, and someone was in line the other day and said they didn’t even think it was happening this year. And the cashier said ‘oh yeah, we have boxes, here you go.’ So we’re hoping the word will get out and we’ll have lots of support again.”
The national collection date runs from Nov. 17 through 22, after which the boxes will be shipped all over the world by Operation Christmas Child’s parent organization, Samaritan’s Purse.
For more information, including a full list of what you could include in your box, visit SamaritansPurse.ca/OCC.
