Operation Christmas Child builds bridges

For many years now the children in Caroline have taken time out to put together gift parcels, packaged in shoe boxes, for those children who may have few bright spots to look forward to in other countries.
The Samaritan’s Purse organization, which runs the program, has a new initiative which is was well described in the Calgary Herald on November 23 by Val Fortney and published on the Samaritan’s Purse website:
“It's a special year, too, for Samaritan's Purse: the organization's new Virtual Shoebox program is now ready to take full flight. Visitors to the organization's website ( www.samaritanspurse.ca)can create their own custom-designed shoeboxes without ever leaving their home.
It's a brilliant idea, but one that Jeff Adams, director of communications for Calgary-based Samaritan's Purse Canada, says was initially brought in last year on a trial basis to make it easier for people living in remote, northern communities to donate shoeboxes.
"It became obvious that this could be used for a lot of people, like students at university who don't have time to shop for a shoebox, or those with kids or busy jobs," says Adams.
The web tool lets visitors choose items pre-purchased by the organization, right down to pencils and toys, then pay by credit card once the box is filled.
The boxes for this inaugural year of the Virtual Shoebox program, he notes, will be going to a very deserving place: Haiti.
Samaritan's Purse International, which has offices in nine countries, will send 250,000 online-created shoeboxes to the troubled Caribbean country this Christmas, with the Canadian office accounting for 20 per cent.
Filling the need for children during the holiday season is something Samaritan's Purse has been doing since 1992, when the 40-year-old Christian relief organization that provides so many needed services for the poor around the world decided to add this holiday offering.
Over the years, millions of shoeboxes have been delivered to children in countries such as Sierra Leone, Nicaragua and Guatemala.”

Christmas is close
Caroline Musical Productions will present their annual annual Christmas program on Saturday, December 18 at 6:30 pm at the Church of the Nazarene in Caroline. This year’s theme is “An old fashioned Christmas”. The program will headline the Caroline Family Singers. Updates to follow.