There is still time for central Albertans to join in the 2022 Operation Christmas Child shoe box collection.
Donors can visit www.PackaBox.ca and pack Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes online.
Operation Christmas Child is an annual initiative of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief organization that works in more than 100 countries.
On Monday, three Red Deer residents helped out at the Operation Christmas Child processing centre in Calgary. They inspected the shoe boxes before they were packed in cartons to be transported to Central America, west Africa, Philippines and Ukraine.
“My wife wanted to see how this part of Operation Christmas Child works,” said Wilf Andrus, who has been packing Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes with his wife Cindy for 17 years. This year, their family packed 40 boxes.
“Kids in other parts of the world need some happiness in their lives. These boxes make them realize somebody, somewhere cares about them,” Wilf said.
Jenny Tuliao, of Red Deer, packed two shoe boxes this year.
“When I’m packing shoe boxes, I hope every box will bring happiness to children,” Tuliao said.
Related:
Canada’s 2022 Operation Christmas Child campaign announced
Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and distributed almost 200 million shoe box gifts in more than 100 countries.
Last year, Canadians filled more than 413,000 shoe boxes with gifts for struggling children in West Africa and Central America.