LIHU‘E — For people working on Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes, Christina Ensman, the Operation Christmas Child Hawai‘i regional coordinator, said the shoeboxes need to be dropped off at the Kaua‘i Veterans Center by 6 p.m. on Monday, the final day of the Operation Christmas Child National Collection Week.
Presented by Samaritan’s Purse, Operation Christmas Child is a way many families and children give thanks and give back to children in need around the world by filling shoeboxes with small toys, hygiene items, school supplies and personal notes of joy and hope.
“This season, children around the world need a tangible reminder that there is hope, and that God loves them,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “Through these shoebox gifts packed with special items, children also receive the opportunity to hear about the eternal hope found in Jesus Christ.”
Ensman said the Kaua‘i Veterans Center is a new site established just this year, so people need to be reminded so they don’t visit the former site.
The veterans center site bristled with activity on Saturday evening as Operation Christmas Child shoebox contributors brought in their completed shoeboxes for packing into a waiting shipping container.
“This year, our goal is to ship out more than 4,114 shoeboxes,” Ensman said. “Kaua‘i High School teacher Michelle Dressler just dropped off part of the 192 boxes she packed by herself. On top of the 192 boxes, she dropped off filler material and other loose, age-appropriate gifts for other boxes. I’m going to be packing tonight after we shut down.”
Presented for more than three decades, Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse that seeks to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world, and together with the local churches worldwide share the good news of Jesus Christ.
Since starting in 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 198 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 170 countries and territories. This year, Operation Christmas Child will collect its 200-millionth shoebox.
Kaua‘i has been doing its part, packing and shipping shoeboxes whose destinations included Tonga, where children were recovering from the effects of a volcanic eruption, the Philippines, where people were recovering from heavy flooding from rains, and more.
“Kaua‘i only recently received honor of the second Foundational Team for the region that includes California and Nevada,” Ensman said.
For the final day of packing and accepting shoeboxes, the Operation Christmas Child tent at the Kaua‘i Veterans Center is open from 1 to 6 p.m.
“We have some big deliveries coming in the afternoon,” Ensman said. “The North Shore Calvary Chapel and the Waimea Baptist Church are bringing in their respective loads following the close of their respective centers early in the afternoon. We’ll be here to accept them before the 6 p.m. deadline. Just look for the big container behind the KVC.”
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
