Operation Christmas Child needs last-minute donations
With time running out to donate shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, organizer Wendy Curran hopes more people will step forward.
So far, around 500 shoeboxes have been received, well below the 1,400 received last year. She is hoping a last-minute push today and briefly tomorrow morning will raise the amount of shoeboxes going to needy children in Third World or disaster-stricken countries.
“We’re hoping that all the churches will be bringing theirs today,” Curran said, noting the need for the shoeboxes, which are filled with items intended for children who suffer due to war, natural disasters, poverty, illness or neglect.
Collected locally, the boxes end up in Atlanta for distribution throughout the world. Curran says it’s an opportunity for locals to reach out.
“Last year we impacted 6.4 million children with these gifts. It’s since been proven that three to five children had to share a shoebox,” she said. “That’s how many children are in need in this world. It just brings so much love and joy and smiles into the hearts of sad, deprived and frightened children.”
Curran will be available today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to accept shoebox donations at First United Methodist Church downtown and again tomorrow between 8 and 9 a.m. before the collection week officially ends.
The boxes are supposed to be transported from McMinnville to Cookeville tomorrow and then to Atlanta. Curran said she is looking for the help of someone willing to donate the use of a covered truck to help with transporting the boxes to Cookeville. She can be reached at 815-3904 or at the church at 473-4419.
What to pack in a shoebox: