Claresholm contributes more than 3,000 shoe boxes

By Rob Vogt
This year, once again, residents in Claresholm and area helped those in need by packing and sending off 3,163 shoe boxes filled with toys, hygiene items, school supplies and many other items during the 2022 Operation Christmas Child shoebox campaign.
These shoeboxes go all over the world including to children in need in Ukraine, the Philippines, Central America, and western Africa.
Operation Christmas Child is a program of Samaritan’s Purse Canada.
Frank King of Samaritan’s Purse said in a news release that despite the challenges posed by inflation, shortages, and the conflict in Ukraine, Canadians packed 415,072 shoeboxes with 88,717 of those packed by Alberta residents, for an increase of 11 per cent over last year, and 3,163 contributed by Claresholm.
These were all part of a worldwide total of 10.6 million collected in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Finland, South Korea, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand.
There is also a year-round option.
Thousands of Canadians are taking advantage of Operation Christmas Child’s Internet option that enables them to pack shoeboxes all year round at PackaBox.ca. Canadians can choose shoebox gift items while also uploading personal notes and photos.
Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and hand-delivered more than 209 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 170 countries hurt by war, poverty, natural disaster, disease, and famine.
Operation Christmas Child is a program of Samaritan’s Purse Canada, a Christian relief and development organization that takes its name from Jesus Christ’s biblical story of the Good Samaritan. Like that Good Samaritan, who found a beaten man and helped restore him, they aid victims of war, disease, disaster, poverty, famine, and persecution. Besides Operation Christmas Child, their initiatives include providing safe water, vocational skills, and agricultural supplies and training to families in the developing world.
Learn more at SamaritansPurse.ca