Canada鈥檚 2023 Operation Christmas Child shoebox collection season is underway.

亚洲天堂 Lake Community Church and other organizations in and around the Lakes District have been packing 鈥極peration Christmas Child Gift Filled Shoeboxes鈥� for over 20 years.

Coordinator Carmen Woode said they pack boxes so that children all over the world can experience God鈥檚 love through simple gifts contained in the shoeboxes.

鈥淲e pack things like school supplies, hygiene items, and wow items like dolls, soccer balls and age-appropriate toys.鈥�

Operation Christmas Child is an annual initiative of Samaritan鈥檚 Purse, an international Christian relief organization that works in more than 100 countries.

Since 1993, they have collected and distributed over 200 million shoebox gifts.

Last year, the local organization collected 454 shoeboxes, and the year before, 474 shoeboxes in 亚洲天堂 Lake.

This year, Canada will distribute shoeboxes to El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Ukraine, and the Philippines.

Struggling children of these countries will be given shoebox gifts regardless of gender, ethnicity, or faith.

Residents can get shoeboxes and pamphlets at Red Apple, Your Dollar Store With More, and Real Canadian Wholesale Club in 亚洲天堂 Lake, and the deadline for drop-off is on Saturday, Nov. 18, at 2 p.m.

The boxes can be dropped off at 亚洲天堂 Lake Community Church at 530 Kerr Road on Monday, Nov. 13, from 4 to 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 14, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 16, from 4 to 7 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 18 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Boxes can also be packed online at PackaBox.ca until Dec. 31.

鈥淭his allows community members who missed the drop-off deadline to pack a shoebox still,鈥� she said.