BARRHEAD - Sometimes a small, seemingly insignificant item can make all the difference in a person’s life.
That is according to Derra Mantey, one of the co-organizers of the Barrhead Alliance Church's Operation Christmas Child's (OCC) efforts to deliver shoeboxes filled with Christmas gifts for needy children in desperate situations around the world, does for their recipients.
Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is a project run by Samaritan’s Purse Canada, a non-denominational evangelical Christian organization founded in 1970.
Depending on the year and what is going on in the world, Canadian-filled boxes can go to various countries almost anywhere in the world. In recent years, Canadian boxes have gone to Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua and Africa (Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Sierra Leone).
It is the 15th year the church has led Barrhead's OCC effort.
According to their records, Mantey said that since they have taken over the OCC effort, they have sent 11,282 Barrhead shoeboxes to needy children.
"And that does not include any of the boxes that Barrhead-area residents packed online," she said, adding the online option is a recent addition.
Mantey, who co-manages the Alliance Church effort with her husband Herb, said that although the Alliance Church has headed the effort in recent years, it was former Barrhead Leader publisher Al Blackmere who brought Operation Christmas Child to Barrhead in 1995.
The Mantey’s involvement in Operation Christmas Child began more than 20 years ago when their daughters, who at the time were four and six years old, decided they were going to pack a shoebox for a young boy.
OCC recommends toys and other small gifts such as dolls, soccer balls (with needle and pump), stuffed animals and musical instruments. Other popular items include school supplies, pens, crayons, notebooks, and colouring books. Clothing, such as t-shirts and socks and personal hygiene items like toothbrushes, hairbrushes and combs, are also welcome.
Restricted items include foodstuffs, such as hard candy, playing cards and poker chips, plus anything that could leak or melt, including toothpaste and shampoo. War toys are also not allowed.
Mantey also added that they have been fortunate to have two groups of knitters, crocheters and quilters making everything from mittens, scarves, toques and t-shirts to woollen and cloth dolls.
"Even in hot countries, there are mountainous regions, areas that get cold at night and cold, rainy seasons, where warm clothing is appreciated," she said.
Operation Christmas Child in 2015 asked the people of Canada to donate an additional 20,000 shoe boxes for the children of Eastern Ukraine.
However, as noted earlier, Canada's shoeboxes are no longer going to Ukraine. Mantey added that due to shipping difficulties, OCC decided to transfer that responsibility to the U.S.
Mantey added that although the Alliance Church has taken over organizing OCC, it is truly a community effort.
"I am always continually amazed at the generosity of our community. Without the help of all the volunteers, that come out to help us package up the boxes, to Neerlandia Co-op that ships the Barrhead and Whitecourt boxes to the Edmonton drop-off location, we could not do this," she said.
Where to pick up and deliver completed shoeboxes
Boxes are available at Everyday Values, Barb's Sewing and Your Dollar Store With More. Once filled, people can return the boxes to the same locations during collection week from Nov. 15-20.
Filled shoeboxes can also be dropped off at the Barrhead Alliance Church starting on Tuesday, Nov. 15, going to Friday, Nov. 29, from 9 a.m. to noon.
On Saturday, Nov. 20, the church extends its hours until 3 p.m. Recycled shoeboxes are also available at Barrhead Shoes. To help cover shipping costs, OCC asks people to include a $10 donation placed inside the top of each box.
People can also pack a shoebox online at www.packabox.ca.
One of the benefits of packing a shoebox online is that you can do it any time of the year, and donors can see what country their box is going to.
For more information about the Barrhead OCC effort or to donate knitted or other homemade items, contact Derra or Herb Mantey at 780-305-6268.
