Putting the property tax issue into perspective
November 12, 2009Mr. Howard Phillip Barbo Sr.
November 16, 2009
The gift-giving season is coming early this year as Morgan City’s First Baptist Church gears up to participate in an international toy drive for underprivileged children overseas.
The drive, called Operation Christmas Child, is run by North Carolina-based Samaritan’s Purse.
“This is a way for us to use an outreach program to touch every country in the world and give kids who wouldn’t normally experience what we consider to be Christmas,” said Bryce Wilks, a media representative for the charitable organization.
Samaritan’s Purse is an international Christian relief and evangelist organization headed by Franklin Graham, the son of renowned televangelist Billy Graham. The 35-year-old nondenominational organization helps victims of poverty, war, natural disaster and disease.
Franklin started Operation Christmas Child in 1993. The initial idea of packing gifts in shoeboxes came from a group of Samaritan’s Purse missionaries, who were traveling through countries doing “God’s work.”
When Christmas came, Wilks said the group opted to donate gifts in shoeboxes to a single orphanage.
“From there, the effort just grew,” he said. “Now, Samaritan’s Purse has hubs in the U.S., Germany and Australia that are responsible for gathering the names of boys and girls who need Christmas gifts.”
Samaritan’s Purse has shipped more than 69 million shoebox gifts to children in 130 countries. Last year, more than 8 million shoebox-filled gifts were shipped. According to Wilks, the group is on track to surpass that amount this year with a goal of 8.3 million shoeboxes.
“The value of a shoebox filled with toys, clothes and hygiene items is priceless to a child that has never experience what we call Christmas,” he said.
The First Baptist Church of Morgan City joined the ranks of volunteers collecting gifts for the needy children six years ago. Robin Richard, Morgan City’s drop-off site coordinator, said members have already begun collecting gifts for the 2009 drive.
“Operation Christmas Child is a unique opportunity to do something as simple as packing a shoebox that will have a lasting impact on a child a world away,” Richard said. “It shows the receiving child that they are loved and not forgotten.”
Each year, the church sets a higher collection goal than the last. More than 2,100 shoeboxes were collected in 2008. This year, the group hopes to ship more than 2,500.
“Looking at what we did last year,” Richard said, “it seems like a small margin to increase, but it will give us an opportunity to surpass our goal and set an even bigger goal for next year.”
Houma’s First Baptist Church on Main Street is also a collection site. Richard said of the 2,100 shoebox gifts that were collected last year, 800 shoeboxes came from Houma.
Residents can visit the Samaritan’s Purse Web site at www.samaritanspurse.org to get tips on how to pack shoebox gifts and to print a label, which denotes the gender and age for whom the gift is suitable.
The program targets children ages two to 14.
Richard said the shoebox should be filled when they are brought to the collection site, and have the proper labeling attached.
The gifts can be dropped off at the churches on Nov.16 through 20, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Nov. 21, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Nov. 22, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.; and Nov. 23, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
From Morgan City, the shoebox gifts will be sorted at one of five Operation Christmas Child collection sites – California, Minnesota, Colorado and two in North Carolina – and shipped to needy children across the globe.
Operation Christmas Child uses tracking technology to allow donors to follow their box to its designated country. To register the shoebox, use the EZ Give donation form on the Samaritan’s Purse Web site.
Donors are also asked to give $7 or more for each shoebox prepared to help pay shipping.
“Donors can give online by using our EZ Give option, or write a check to Samaritan’s Purse – write “OCC” on memo line,” Wilks said. “The check can be placed in an envelope on top of the gift items inside the box.”
For more information, contact Richard at (985) 984-5920.
Samaritan’s Purse volunteers load donated shoeboxes filled with toys for shipping to children across the globe. The mission, Operation Christmas Child, is under way at Morgan City First Baptist Church and First Baptist Church in Houma. * Photo courtesy of FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH in Morgan City
