Former U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Theron Jennings, 98, lives alone in a Savoy, Illinois, apartment where he sews quilts for children around the world. Since 2014, he has handmade more than 400 of these blankets, completing 160 in just the last year. Each one is lovingly packed into a shoebox gift with other toys and…
Operation Christmas Child
Age Is No Obstacle for Shoebox Packing
Leila Mae Cummings’ favorite activity is to pack Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts. This 98-year-old resident of Greensboro, North Carolina, packed hundreds of them this year because she has a heart for children and hard work. “Growing up on the farm, I can’t ever remember a time when I didn’t have a job to do,”…
Operation Christmas Child
Press Release Operation Christmas Child Feb. 1 – Over 11.3 Million Shoebox Gifts Collected
Local Families Provide School Supplies for Children in Need Around the World BOONE, N.C.—As the summer season comes to an end, local families are preparing for the school year with back-to-school sales, but many families are not just shopping for their own children. Families are collecting school supplies, along with personal care items and fun…
Operation Christmas Child
A Kite in a Shoebox Gift
A Kite in a Shoebox Gift Helps Start One Girl's Soaring Journey of Faith When a teen in Central Asia received a gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoebox, the Lord used it to lead her to Christian community and discipleship. Saliha* enjoyed a surprise beyond anything she ever imagined as she opened her Operation Christmas Child…
Media
COVID-19 Italy Response Press Kit
← Media Resources Photos B-roll Press Releases Approved Quotes Fact Sheets Media Requests Media Contact Kaitlyn Lahm (828) 406-0365 klahm@samaritan.org COVID-19 Italy Response Press Kit As northern Italy became a global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, Samaritan's Purse airlifted more than 38 tons of medical relief supplies—including an Emergency Field Hospital—to Cremona, Italy on 2 DC-8…
Operation Christmas Child
Shoebox Distribution Photos
Shoebox Distribution These photographs are available for news media outlet use in coverage of Samaritan's Purse-related stories. If your news outlet uses a photograph, please credit: "Courtesy of Samaritan's Purse." These photographs are not for commercial use. Excited boys in Grenada unpack a pump for the soccer ball one received in his shoebox gift. A church…
Operation Christmas Child
Yves and a Scarf
Yves and a Scarf "A stranger loves me? How can that be, when neighbors in Rwanda had tried to kill us?" When my mother was eight months pregnant with me, our neighbors in Rwanda tried to murder us. My father, a pastor, was well-respected in the community. So, it was shocking when those who had…
Operation Christmas Child
Idol Worshippers Become Evangelists Through Operation Christmas Child in Nigeria
The danger zone. That’s what people called a community in Nigeria whose people pledged allegiance to witchcraft and idolatry. For years, Pastor Peter* had sowed Gospel seeds in this difficult area but, it seemed, with little effect. A fledgling church existed, though it struggled. That all changed, however, when he partnered with Operation Christmas Child…
Operation Christmas Child
Watch “The Record with Greta Van Susteren” on Newsmax TV for an Operation Christmas Child Special
Greta Van Susteren of Newsmax TV was in Ecuador this past weekend with Operation Christmas Child. Together with Wheaton College students, she distributed gift-filled shoeboxes to dozens of kids—spreading Christmas joy—as local church partners shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Van Susteren will air an exclusive feature on this child evangelism project on Christmas Day.…
Operation Christmas Child
Churches Dedicated Among Unreached Himba of Namibia
Update (Sept. 8, 2021): Since this article was originally published in 2019, Samaritan’s Purse has built a second church building in the Himba community of Otutati. Dedicated on February 27, 2021, this facility is an additional outpost of hope to this unreached people group. The Gospel continues to spread among them through the oral resources…
