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Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Recipient Shares How Families Impact Children with Shoeboxes
Operation Christmas Child, a project of international Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse, delivers gift-filled shoeboxes to millions of children in need each year. For years, Fairfax families have packed shoebox gifts for boys and girls around the world. One of these gifts reached Vanessa Mejia-Hutchison in Honduras when she was a young girl. Mejia-Hutchison is now visiting Fairfax residents to share how the simple gift had a life-changing impact.
Mejia-Hutchison will be telling her story to local groups and churches. She wants to encourage residents as they kick off the upcoming collection season to fill more shoeboxes with fun toys, school supplies and personal care items—contributing to the global goal of reaching 12 million children in Jesus’ Name.
When she was 10, Mejia-Hutchison learned that her church in Honduras had a surprise for the children: a big, red shiny box with a gold ribbon. After being told that Christmas was a celebration of Jesus’ birth, she discovered that inside the impressive box was a red-and-green shoebox for each boy and girl. Mejia-Hutchison could hardly wait to open her gift! “It gave me hope,” Mejia-Hutchison said. “It made me feel special. It reminded me how a couple of years ago this same Man cleaned me and rescued me from what I was going through.”
During Operation Christmas Child’s National Collection Week Nov. 18 – 25, Fairfax residents can bring gift-filled shoeboxes to multiple drop-off locations across the area to be announced in late October.
For more information, call 410-772-7360, or visit samaritanspurse.org/occ. Participants can donate $10 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, a project of Samaritan's Purse, seeks 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 220 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 170 countries and territories.
Event Links
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/2646641-0
