Ben Smith knows the power of a good story and the difference it can make in people’s lives. Hearing stories about how Operation Christmas Child helped bring the Gospel to children around the world fueled his involvement in the Samaritan’s Purse project from the very beginning. As a child, he packed shoebox gifts with his…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Gift Distribution Brings New Life, New Ministry in Ecuador
Jamyleth’s life changed for good when she was an 8-year-old girl living on a farm in Riobamba, Ecuador. It was then she received a gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoebox. “I was very excited,” Jamyleth, now 22, recalls. “I had received presents from my parents before, but nothing like the shoebox. My favorite thing in the…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Gifts Open Doors in Storm-Weary Acapulco
Children and many of their parents gathered together under the large cobertizo in La Barra de Coyuca. The young people of this small town just west of Acapulco recall, as if yesterday, the nightmare of Hurricane Otis. Even now, when it begins to rain or the winds pick up enough to shake their roofs, children…
Operation Christmas Child
Thanking God for New Believers in Remote Madagascar
Ambodibibaka is so remote you can’t even find it on most maps. The village is nestled in the forests of eastern Madagascar where its residents long held to ancestral worship and traditions—until Samaritan’s Purse teams recently brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to children and their families. Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts opened the door…
Operation Christmas Child
Shanika & Sherika and the Mittens
“We received mittens in our shoebox gifts in Jamaica at age 8. Before this, our father cut a notebook and pencil in half so we’d have school supplies.” We grew up in rural Jamaica sharing most things, not because we’re twins but because it was a necessity for our family to make ends meet. Our…
Operation Christmas Child
Year-round Volunteer: Thinking Locally—and Globally—with Operation Christmas Child
Ben Smith serves in media support with Operation Christmas Child in southwest Indiana. Thinking Locally—and Globally—with Operation Christmas Child Indiana year-round volunteer plays a crucial role in promoting local involvement with the worldwide project that delivers shoebox gifts to children in need. Ben Smith knows the power of a good story and the difference it…
Operation Christmas Child
Family Resources
Focus on the Family Our friends at Focus on the Family put together this video about one family’s tradition of packing shoebox gifts with Operation Christmas Child. How can you start a shoebox tradition with your own family? Explore our resources below! 7 Ideas for Family Impact Pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child…
Media
Hurricane Ian Response
Media Resources Media Requests Press Releases Fact Sheets B-roll Audio PSA Photos Hurricane Ian Response Press Kit Press Releases October 6 Franklin Graham is Going to Southwest Florida to Encourage People Devastated by Hurricane Ian and Thank Volunteers Serving on the Ground Samaritan’s Purse has mobilized an army of 550 volunteers—with 2,500 more on the…
50 Years of Ministry
100 Million Shoebox Gifts Collected
Evilyn Pinnow, a then 12-year-old from Wisconsin, traveled more than 5,000 miles across the United States collecting items to place inside Operation Christmas Child’s symbolic 100 millionth shoebox before she headed to the Dominican Republic to place it into the hands of a precious child in need. In California, friends of the ministry added socks…
Operation Christmas Child
Mission and History
Mission & History Mission The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to provide God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Franklin Graham leads a team to deliver Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes to boys and girls…
