This year Christmas will be a little brighter for a number of children in Central America, Africa and Ukraine thanks in large part to the generosity of Barrhead area residents and Operation Christmas Child.
Operation Christmas Child is a project run by Samaritan’s Purse Canada, a non-denominational evangelical Christian organization founded in 1970, that has been providing spiritual and physical aid to people in need.
The project fills shoeboxes with Christmas gifts for needy kids in desperate situations around the world. Since it began in 1990, the charity has helped deliver more than 146 million shoeboxes to kids in over 135 countries. Last year in Canada 664,525 were collected, including 795 from Barrhead, not including the special container shipment to Ukraine.
Derra Mantey, who co-ordinates the program with her husband Herb, said former Barrhead Leader publisher Al Blackmere brought Operation Christmas Child to Barrhead in 1995.
“Al is just one of those people, he has a big heart. When he sees a need whether it be in the community or somewhere else he tries to fill it,” she said.
However, due to the generosity of Barrhead area residents the program became too much for the Leader to handle so St. John’s Church took it over.
Then in 2007, the Alliance Church took over the program.
Depending on the year and what is happening in the world the boxes filled by Canadians go to children in different countries in the world. This year it will be in Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Nicaragua) and in Africa (Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Sierra Leone).
Operation Christmas Child 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.
“Basic hygiene items like toothbrushes, bar soap and washcloths are also very popular,” she said, adding so are clothing items such as T-shirts and socks. “Basically anything that isn’t a liquid, or breakable, or something that can melt, freeze or leak is allowed.”
Another item that was added to the restricted list about three years ago is food and candy. In past years people could include non-perishable packaged food items, but Mantey said every year more countries are stopping these types of items at customs so Samaritans Purse has taken it off the list.
“Which is too bad because a lot of people liked to give the children a bit of a treat by throwing in a handful of hard candies,” Mantey said.
The other item that isn’t allowed are items that can harm or scare a child.
“A lot of these children come from war torn areas and have seen and experienced violence, so no war-related toys are allowed,” she said.
Due to the number of people displaced, Samaritan’s Purse asked Canada to contribute 20,000 extra boxes containing cold weather items, which would go directly to Ukraine.
One group that provides much of the cold weather apparel that is included in Barrhead’s Ukraine contribution is the Hillcrest knitting club.
“These are people in their 80s and 90s who knit and crochet year round to bless others including our program,” Mantey said, adding one of the club’s members continued to knit for the program even after being admitted to the hospital.
To help cover the cost of the project, a minimum $10 donation should be included with each shoebox. For items that are too large for the shoeboxes, such as blankets, the Alliance Church has arranged for a large container.
For those who don’t want to pack a box, but still want to donate they can have someone else do it for them by going online at www.packabox.ca.
Along with the shoeboxes, blankets, and clothing, Mantey said a small army of volunteers from the Alliance Church, will be needed to get Barrhead’s donation ready for shipping.
Before the donations are shipped, each shoebox must be opened and examined. The shipping boxes are then stacked on wooden pallets and shrink wrapped before they are shipped to Edmonton and Calgary.
“The business community has been so wonderful. We could not do this without their help,” Mantey said.
Neerlandia Co-op ships Barrhead’s donations free of charge, to the Samaritan’s Purse distribution centre in Edmonton. Pembina West Co-op donates all the palettes, while Barrhead Shoes donates their empty shoeboxes.
Mantey said the other corporate supporter Barrhead’s Operation Christmas Child effort could not do without is Everyday Values.
“Emil [Paquette] has been a great friend. Every year he donates 10 per cent of the total receipt, if the items have been purchased from the store and if they are for a shoebox, all you have to do is give them your receipt and say it is for the shoebox campaign,” she said.
Operation Christmas Child collection week is Nov. 13 to 18 and boxes can be dropped off at the Barrhead Alliance Church from noon to 3 p.m. as well as Barb’s Sewing and the Everyday Values during normal business hours.
