It was another successful year for the Operation Christmas Child shoe box gift drive.
The 亚洲天堂 Lake Community Church received 599 boxes of items for needy children in African and Central American countries, as Wanda Giesbrecht, coordinator of the shoe box campaign for 亚洲天堂 Lake and the Southside told Lakes District 亚洲天堂.
Donors buy and put in the shoe boxes such items as school supplies, toys, toiletries and little tools like measuring tapes, pliers or hammers, according to age and gender, said John Neufeld Pastor at the 亚洲天堂 Lake Community Church.
鈥淢ulti-tools can be pretty precious. People are encouraged to put a 鈥榳ow鈥� item in that would be bigger than the rest, like it could be a larger stuffy animal or a flattened soccer ball with a pump maybe,鈥� Neufeld said with a laugh.
The program is aimed at children aged 2-14.
The shoe box campaign is organized by Christian charity Samaritan鈥檚 Purse and the Community Church has been participating in the drive since 2005.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been going really good. We started maybe with collecting 100. For the community the most we ever had was over 700. Some years it鈥檚 in the 500s or 600s,鈥� Neufeld said.
The wider community has been part of the program for more than 20 years.
READ MORE: 亚洲天堂 Lake community makes an impact
After the hundreds of boxes leave 亚洲天堂 Lake they pass through a collection facility in Prince George and then onto Calgary which is the western Canadian collection centre for Samaritan鈥檚 Purse. Volunteers sort through the boxes and remove certain prohibited items like liquids, candies or toy weapons.
鈥淸For] some kids in some countries if they got a toy gun it could traumatize them,鈥� Neufeld said.
Each shoe box usually also contains a shipping donation of $10 because the boxes eventually go to countries in West Africa and Central and South America.
The pastor encourages donors to include a photo of themselves or their families or to write a little note along with their address.
鈥淥ne lady in our church has received several responses back. They鈥檙e rare but they鈥檙e possible. There are stories that we get on DVD that come back from kids who receive them about how their lives have changed. They鈥檙e two or three minute stories.鈥�
Neufeld estimates that over the dozen years and out of the thousands of shoe boxes handed over, the 亚洲天堂 Lake community has donated around $180,000 worth of goods for children in developing countries.
Blair McBride
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