Shoebox campaign successful once again
By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on February 9, 2022.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com
Thanks in part to many Lethbridge residents, thousands of children across the world received gift-filled shoeboxes during the 2021 Operation Christmas Child shoebox campaign.
“An opportunity to show the struggling children first of all that people in Canada care about them, and as a Christian organization that God cares about them, he knows about them and he cares about them,” said Frank King, news media relations manager of Samaritan’s Purse Canada.
He said Canadians lovingly packed 413,875 shoeboxes with toys, hygiene items, school supplies, and many other items. That’s an increase of more than 40,000 over 2020’s total.
“Lethbridge packed 2335 shoeboxes in 2021, which is down just slightly from 2020 by 30 boxes,” said King.
Distribution of the shoeboxes around the world has already begun. During the next few weeks, children in Central America and French-speaking West Africa will be receiving shoeboxes packed by caring Canadians.
Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and hand-delivered almost 200 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in over 170 countries hurt by war, poverty, natural disaster, disease, and famine.
“Our partners, usually churches, get them through customs there and work in their countries to set up events where children are invited to come and they receive their shoeboxes,” said King.
He said Alberta packed 80,121 shoeboxes for children in need and that is up over seven per cent from 2020’s total of 74,791. Which is part of a worldwide total of 10.5 million collected in Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Finland, South Korea, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand.
King said even though the shoeboxes were distributed as part of the Operation Christmas Child shoebox campaign, people can pack a shoebox any time during the year.
“It can be the middle of an August heat wave, but if something puts it on your heart to go and help some children in need, you can go online in the middle of that August heat wave and you can pack boxes for children in need,” said King.
For more information and to pack a box visit https://packabox.samaritanspurse.ca/
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