A member of Samaritan’s Purse explains the details of Operation Christmas Child.

FORT OF ST. JOHN, BC — Samaritan’s Purse Media Relations Officer Frank King spoke with Steve Berard on This week in peace to discuss the details of Operation Christmas Child.

National Collecting Week will take place next month from Monday November 18th to Sunday November 24th.

Samaritan’s Purse is a Christian organization that provides spiritual and physical aid to affected people around the world. King says Samaritan’s Purse is also active in helping with Florida’s disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Helen.

Operation Christmas Child, run by Samaritan’s Purse, aims to deliver shoeboxes of gifts to children around the world.

According to King, hundreds of thousands of Canadians fill shoeboxes every year, which are then sent to needy children around the world.

“These gift-filled shoeboxes, in many cases, will be the first gifts these children receive,” King said.

Donations will be accepted during the week of the collection at the Fort St. Church drop-off point. John Alliance at 9804 99th Avenue.

Once collected, the shoe boxes are sent to a processing center in Calgary, where volunteers check them to make sure the donated items are safe for the children.

King says the items then go to children in Central America, Ukraine, the Philippines and West Africa.

Residents are encouraged to collect materials such as school supplies, toys and toiletries, place them in a shoe box, mark whether the box is packed for a boy or girl, and the age category, and deliver the items to the nearest drop-off location.

Due to concerns about delivery, ensuring proper delivery or giving gifts at a convenient time for children who do not celebrate Christmas, gifts will be distributed over the next year.

“The idea of ​​getting shoeboxes from Canada to Ukraine or the Philippines into the hands of children in less than a month is simply unrealistic,” King said.

King also thanked the Fort St. John community for their contributions this year and last year.

“I know they will do it in the future. It’s people like your listeners (Fort St. John residents) that make this program possible,” King said.

Since 1993, more than 220 million children in more than 170 countries and territories have received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox.

In February, residents packed up almost 1500 shoe boxes for surgery.

“Whenever these kids get shoeboxes in December or in the heat of August, it’s still an amazing gift to them from people they’ve never met in a country they may not have even heard of before,” he explained. King.

“This is a great way for us as a Christian organization to show them that Canadians know how they live and don’t forget about them, and we believe as Christians that God knows about them and is using Operation Christmas Child to to let them know that He has not forgotten them.”

Volunteers are needed across Canada and anyone interested in helping or learning more about Samaritan’s Purse is welcome to attend website.

Anyone unable to donate gifts due to giving away can also participate packabox.ca

British Columbians packed 53,945 shoeboxes in 2023 — a three per cent increase over 2022.