Back-to-School Shoppers Help Children Overseas

As children prepare to return to the classroom, some Northwestern NJ families are shifting their focus from their own back-to-school checklists to helping children around the world who have limited access to basic supplies necessary to attend school.

This month Wantage volunteer Nan Greenfield is busy filling her shopping cart with notebooks, pencils and other school items to pack in shoeboxes alongside toys and hygiene items. Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, will deliver these gift-filled shoeboxes to children suffering from poverty, natural disaster, war, disease and famine.

“At the end of summer, we often forget how fortunate we are to be able to attend school and have the supplies we need,” said Greenfield. “The pens and paper we put in shoeboxes are more than just gifts for the children receiving them—they are tangible reminders that God has not forgotten them and that He cares about the details of their lives. Helping children in need makes back-to-school shopping very rewarding.”

HOW NORTHWESTERN NJ RESIDENTS CAN JOIN THE EFFORT:

PACK A SHOEBOX GIFT— Fill shoeboxes with school supplies, toys, hygiene items and notes of encouragement. National Collection Week is Nov. 14 – 21, when around 4,500 drop-off locations will be open to receive shoebox gifts. By going online to give the suggested donation of $7 per shoebox gift, participants can follow their box to discover where in the world it will be delivered. They can also pack a shoebox gift online and even upload a photo and note of encouragement.

SPREAD THE WORD—Enlist families, friends and groups to take part in this life-changing project.

For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call local phone number 973.945.9723 or visit samaritanspurse.org/occ.

Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham. The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 135 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 150 countries and territories. For many of these children, the gift-filled shoebox is the first gift they have ever received.