Strathmore raises 682 shoeboxes for children in need through Operation Christmas Child

Posted on: Staff Writer

From edition: February 18 2022 Strathmore Times

By John Watson Local Journalism initiative Reporter

Pictured are children from El Salvador receiving shoeboxes donated through the Operation Christmas Child project. A total of 682 shoeboxes were raised within Strathmore alone, during the most recent collection period between November and December 2021. Canadians in total put together over 414,000 shoeboxes over the course of the project last year.

Photo Courtesy of Frank King

Of the nearly 414,000 shoeboxes donated by Canadians through Operation Christmas Child at the end of 2021, Strathmore put together 682 boxes – an increase of 130 per cent over the previous year.

News Media Relations Manager, Frank King, with Samaritan’s Purse International Relief, said it’s an exciting development to see that despite concerns regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Strathmore didn’t let that stop them from showing their support.

“We are ecstatic and grateful to the folks in Strathmore who said, ‘we don’t care about a pandemic, there are children in need and we’re going to help them,’ and that’s what they did,” said King.

Operation Christmas Child has been operating in Canada since 1993 and gathers shoe boxes full of school supplies, hygiene items and toys to send off to partner organizations in Central America and French-speaking West Africa.

Boxes are distributed amongst local children in recipient countries. According to a release, since 2009, more than 23 million children have received boxes. 

“I hear about these children in El Salvador and Nicaragua and Costa Rica and Senegal and places like that (where) this may be the only gift (a child has) ever received and it really shows the impact and the value of this program,” said King.

“The other neat thing too, is that oftentimes, the shoeboxes open up the doors for us to work with community leaders with some of their other needs like getting safe water, or literacy programs, or hygiene, or agricultural tools and training.”

Boxes packed by Canadians will be distributed throughout the partner countries throughout the year. Distribution of the boxes gathered this past Christmas season has been ongoing since the beginning of 2022.

Worldwide, a total of 10.5 million boxes were collected in participating nations to support Operation Christmas Child.

“In a year filled with uncertainty, we praise God for the opportunity to continue reaching children around the world with gift-filled shoeboxes that bring so much joy,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse.

“These gifts provide a tangible expression of love and open doors for sharing the life-changing hope of Jesus Christ.”

The typical collection period of boxes is from early November until mid-December. Online options now allow donations of shoeboxes to be made year-round. Anyone who is interested in the program is able to find more information at packabox.ca