This week Samaritan’s Purse is asking Hollister families to donate 5,500 shoeboxes full of toys, school supplies and hygiene items for kids overseas through Operation Christmas Child.
From Nov. 17 to 24, Hollister residents are encouraged to bring their presents to the Mars Hill Coffeehouse on San Benito Street, one of 4,000 collection sites in the country this year.
Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization that has provided aid to victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, famine and disease over the years, according to their website.
Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has delivered shoeboxes filled with gifts to more than 113 million children in more than 150 countries, according to a press release from the organization. This year, the organizers hope to collect enough gifts to reach another 10 million children, with 5,500 shoeboxes coming from the Hollister area.
To prepare a shoebox for kids overseas, select an empty cardboard box and decide if the gift is for a boy or girl. Then, download the appropriate label and mark one of three age categories: 2-4, 5-9 or 10-14. Fill the box with items such as school supplies, stuffed animals, harmonicas and jump ropes. Hollister residents can also build personalized shoebox gifts online.
Including a $7 cash or check donation in each shoebox helps cover the cost of sending it overseas and allows the donor to learn their gift’s final destination.
Checks placed inside shoeboxes should be made payable to Samaritan’s Purse with “OCC” in the memo line. Donations can also be made online through the organization’s website.
For more information or to see a list of suggested gifts, go to samaritanspurse.org.
