Operation Christmas Child hosting collections November 16-23
Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Smithfield is gearing up for collection week for Operation Christmas Child’s Love in a Shoebox, a ministry that sends gifts to children in desperate situations around the world.
Collection week will be held Nov. 16-23 at Mount Moriah, which is located at 30 Church St., and is marking its 10th year serving as the collection center for the Laurel Highlands Collection Network, which handles Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties. Mount Moriah collects shoeboxes from residents in the surrounding area but also receives shoeboxes from relay centers throughout the district.
“It’s really amazing to think we have been able to do this and not lose momentum,” said Mina Brown, collection center coordinator. “People are volunteering and donating items and shoeboxes. There seems to be more every year. It’s a wonderful thing.”
Brown reported last year’s donations amounted to 11,076 shoeboxes, up from 10,603 the previous year. That included shoeboxes dropped off at Smithfield as well as those from other area relay centers, which are then transported to Smithfield.
“Last year we had so many that we had two cartons that wouldn’t fit in our truck, and we had to take them to (another collection center at) Greensburg. We were packed,” said Brown of the tractor-trailer that takes the shoeboxes to the Operation Christmas Child processing center in Charlotte, N.C.
In addition, a small group from Mount Moriah will travel to Baltimore on Dec. 3 to help prepare shoeboxes for distribution at the processing center that opened in the city last year.
Operation Christmas Child is part of Samaritan’s Purse, headed by the Rev. Dr. Franklin Graham, son of the Rev. Billy Graham, one of the country’s best-known evangelists. The ministry asks people to donate shoeboxes filled with gifts, such as hard candy, small toys, clothing and school supplies, to children around the world who are in desperate situations, including famine, flood and war. The ministry also gives each child a Gospel in his or her own language with each shoebox, and missionaries invite the children to participate in a 10- to 12-week Bible study.
Since 1993, Samaritan’s Purse has delivered more than 124 million shoeboxes in over 150 countries. The ministry has a 2015 global goal this year to reach 11 million children.
Asked why people enjoy participating in the program, Brown said, “I think they see it’s an effective ministry to get God’s word to children who have nothing.”
Samaritan’s Purse website explains participants are asked to pack a shoebox for either a boy or a girl of different age categories from 2 to 14. The website includes labels that can be printed for the boxes as well as gift suggestions. Participants are asked to include $7 for each box for shipping costs.
The website also noted participants may want to enclose a photo of themselves and family or group with an address as the child may be able to write back.
Participants can follow their shoebox online and find out its destination. Instructions are available at www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/follow-your-box. Brown said hers went to Uganda last year.
Brown said people can also drop off items that will be included in shoeboxes that church volunteers will pack as well as money to pay for shipping during collection week. She said anyone who wants to mail a donation for shipping costs can send it to the charity’s headquarters at Samaritan’s Purse, 801 Bamboo Road, Boone, N.C. 28607.
Operation Christmas Child released the collections times for local relay and collection centers in the district:
Collection center:
Mount Moriah Baptist Church, 30 Church St., Smithfield: noon to 4 p.m., Nov. 16-20; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Nov. 21; noon to 3 p.m., Nov.22; 9 to 11 a.m., Nov. 23.
Relay centers:
n Clinton Church of God, 405 Buchanan Road, Normalville: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m., Nov. 16-20; 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Nov. 21; 1 to 5 p.m., Nov. 22; 8 to 9 a.m., Nov. 23.
n Fayette City Alliance Church, 211 Connellsville St., Fayette City: 2 to 4 p.m., Nov. 16; 5 to 7 p.m., Nov. 17; 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Nov. 18; noon to 2 p.m., Nov. 19; 6 to 8 p.m., Nov. 20; noon to 4 p.m., Nov. 22; 8 to 10 a.m., Nov. 23.
n Oak View United Methodist Church, 160 Rolling Meadows Road, Waynesburg: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Nov. 16-18 and 20; 4 to 7 p.m., Nov. 19; noon to 4 p.m., Nov. 21; noon to 2 p.m., Nov. 22; 9 to 10 a.m., Nov. 23.
n United Community of God, 405 Park St., Confluence: 3 to 5 p.m., Nov.16-17; 5 to 8 p.m., Nov. 18; 9 to 11 a.m., Nov. 19; 5 to 8 p.m., Nov. 20; 9 to 11 a.m., Nov. 21; noon to 2 p.m., Nov. 22; 8 to 9 a.m., Nov. 23.
n World Christian Outreach Ministries, 503 W. Georgia Ave., Connellsville: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Nov. 16-20; 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Nov. 21; 1 to 4 p.m., Nov. 22; 8 to 10 a.m., Nov. 23.