Shoebox packers across the Kansas City Metro are preparing to bless children around the world through Operation Christmas Child. More than 4,000 locations, including more than 40 locations in the greater Kansas City area, have offered a curbside drop-off option for the Samaritan’s Purse through Monday, Nov. 23.
Operation Christmas Child has been collecting and delivering shoebox gifts—filled with school supplies, hygiene items and fun toys—to children worldwide for more than two decades. This is a project that everyone can still be a part of, even with COVID-19 restrictions.
There’s still time for Kansas City-area individuals, families, and groups to transform empty shoeboxes into fun gifts. The project partners with local churches across the globe to deliver these tangible expressions of God’s love to children in need. Find a step-by-step guide on the website, http://samaritanspurse.org/occ.
“In the midst of the pandemic, the needs are greater than ever before,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “Children around the world need to know that God loves them and there is hope. A simple shoebox gift opens the door to share about the true hope that can only be found in Jesus Christ.”
Participants can find their nearest location and hours of operation as they make plans to drop off their shoebox gifts on their website. The online lookup tool is searchable by city or zip code. Signs at each location will identify the Curbside Drop-off. Drop-offs are located in Kansas City, North Kansas City, Independence, Lee’s Summit, Parkville, Liberty, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Raytown, Grandview, Raymore, Olathe, Overland Park, Shawnee, Lenexa, Smithville, and many more locations across Missouri, Kansas and the nation.
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 178 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 160 countries and territories.
–Metro Voice