As back-to-school items are placed front-and-center in stores this time of year, many Operation Christmas Child year-round shoppers are rolling up their sleeves to find great deals. School supplies are a fundamental component of quality shoebox gifts. In addition to capitalizing on seasonal sales and off-season clearance merchandise, shopping year-round divides shoebox purchases over several…
Operation Christmas Child
Both Sides of the Box
BOTH SIDES of the BOX Every year people prayerfully fill shoeboxes with toys, school supplies, and personal care items for children in need around the world. These special boxes are joyfully received by boys and girls from 2-14 years old, often as their first gift ever! Whether sending or receiving, those touched by Operation Christmas Child…
Operation Christmas Child
Franklin Graham Thanks Processing Center Volunteers
Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham today thanked the thousands of volunteers who are currently working in eight processing center locations across the U.S. to prepare millions of Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts for international shipment. Headed to over 100 countries this year, the gift-filled shoeboxes will bring great joy and the Good News of Jesus…
Health & Medical Ministries
Franklin Graham Visits Mongolia to Hear Compelling Stories from Children’s Heart Project
In a remote province in Mongolia about 140 miles from the capital city, a young mother and father work tirelessly day in and day out tending to their sheep, goats, cows, and horses. As nomadic herders, they move with the changing seasons and make their home in different areas throughout the mountainous countryside. Yet, no…
Operation Christmas Child
She’s Got a Passion for Sharing Christ Through Shoeboxes
The first thing you notice about 24-year-old Amanda Urgolites is her smile—bright, warm, welcoming, continual. That’s not so unusual, you might say. But Amanda’s radiant smile is all the more remarkable because she has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a rare and incurable collagen deficiency disorder that causes her ligaments to stretch and malfunction. Her bones dislocate…
Our Ministry
Operation Heal Our Patriots 2022 Special Report
Hope for the Journey Dear Friend, The wounded veterans who participate in Operation Heal Our Patriots tell us some heartbreaking stories. After multiple combat deployments, many return home with post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and other physical and emotional wounds. All of the couples who come to our Samaritan Lodge Alaska are in fragile…
Operation Christmas Child
Mission and History
Mission & History Mission “Let the children come to Me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” Mark 10:14, ESV The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world. Through this project, Samaritan’s Purse partners with the…
Operation Christmas Child
Drop-off Locations to Open for Operation Christmas Child
NOV. 18-25: Drop-off Locations to Open for Operation Christmas Child BOONE, N.C.—Volunteers are preparing to collect Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts during National Collection Week, Nov. 18 – 25. More than 4,700 drop-off locations will open across the country in November, and shoebox packers can find their local drop-off locations nearest them. Since 1993, Operation…
Operation Christmas Child
#ShoeboxStories: Désiré and The Yo-Yo
ShoeboxStories #shoeboxstories is an ongoing series in which shoebox recipients share about the eternal impact of a simple gift. Désiré -and- The Yo-yo God used a simple light-up yo-yo to remind me of His love. I remember walking every day to school when I was young. Most of the time I went without any lunch…
Operation Christmas Child
‘The Lord Loves Even His Enemies’
In a small town on the plains of Central Asia, most people are hostile to the small group of Christians living among them. Though these courageous believers are continually harassed, they faithfully persevere. Two Christian women named Aigul* and Dinara* were meeting regularly to pray for their town. Persecution flared up when Aigul’s mother died.…
