Cornerstone Community Church in Seymour was recognized Aug. 5 for its service to children in need around the world through Operation Christmas Child.
For more than five years, the church has served as a drop-off location for the program. During that period, 4,511 shoebox gifts have been packed and donated to Operation Christmas Child from the Seymour community.
Each year, the Samaritan’s Purse project delivers millions of gift-filled shoeboxes to children affected by war, disaster, disease, poverty and famine.
Edie Thompson, a member of the congregation, was one of many members sitting in the audience who was celebrating this day, according to a news release from Linda Hall, volunteer area coordinator of southeast Indiana.
She has been packing gift-filled shoeboxes for more than 15 years, long before Cornerstone became a community drop-off for shoeboxes. She said she was thrilled she had received responses from children who had received her shoeboxes from the Philippines, Madagascar, Ukraine and Armenia.
She said Operation Christmas Child holds a special place in her heart. It is about helping children in need and sharing the good news about Jesus with them.
More than 90,000 churches and groups in the United States partner with Operation Christmas Child to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to millions of children in need. Nearly 5,000 of those churches serve as drop-off locations for the project.
Through Operation Christmas Child, children, families and groups fill shoeboxes with fun toys, school supplies and hygiene items, creating gifts that can make a life-changing difference in the hearts of children around the world.
Nancy Rypma, the drop-off leader at Cornerstone, said they are looking forward to collecting shoeboxes from the community again this year with Operation Christmas Child during the project’s National Collection Week, Nov. 12 through 19.
Participants can donate $9 per shoebox gift online through “Follow Your Box” and receive a tracking label to discover its destination.
Those who prefer the convenience of online shopping can browse samaritanspurse.org/buildonline to select gifts matched to a child’s specific age and gender, then finish packing the virtual shoebox by adding a photo and personal note of encouragement.
Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham.
Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 157 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 160 countries and territories. For many of these children, the gift-filled shoebox is the first gift they have ever received.
For information, contact Hall at 812-637-3637 or [email protected] or visit samaritanspurse.org/occ.