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Gift-Filled Shoe Boxes
Collect Gift-Filled Shoe Boxes
TAMPA BAY SITES OPEN TO COLLECT GIFT-FILLED SHOE BOXES
Volunteers Working to Collect 33,500 Gifts for Needy Kids This Christmas
While many Tampa families are busy with holiday activities, a group of local
volunteers is focused on filling empty shoe boxes with school supplies, toys,
hygiene items and notes of encouragement for needy kids overseas. Tampa families
are participating in the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind—Operation
Christmas Child—an effort that has hand-delivered 86 million gifts to kids
worldwide since 1993.
This year-round project of Samaritan’s Purse is coming to its peak, as local
businesses, churches and schools prepare to collect gift-filled shoe boxes
during National Collection Week, Nov. 14-21. Volunteers can drop off their shoe
box gifts at one of sixteen bustling locations in the Tampa area to help kids in
100 countries know they are loved and not forgotten.
LOCAL COLLECTION SITES:
Crossroads Christian Church
1645 Seminole Boulevard, Largo, FL 33778
Daily Hours: M-F 10a-12p & 6p-8p, Sa 2p-5p, Su 2p-5p, M 10a-12p
On-site media contact: Stacy Pauly-Sherman, cell: 727-710-1463
Van Dyke United Methodist Church
17030 Lakeshore Rd, Lutz, FL 33558
Daily Hours: M-F 10a-1p; Sa 10a-6p; Su 9a-4p; M 10a-6p
On-site media contact: Jon Brigner, cell: 813-727-9484
Operation Christmas Child, a project of international Christian relief and
evangelism organization Samaritan’s Purse, uses whatever means necessary to
reach suffering children around the world with these gifts of hope, including
sea containers, trucks, trains, airplanes, boats, camels and dog sleds. Tracking
technology also allows donors to “follow” their box to the destination country
where it will be hand-delivered to a child in need. To register shoe box gifts
and find out the destination country, use the Follow Your Box donation form
found at
www.samaritanspurse.org/occ.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO GET INVOLVED:
PREPARE—Enlist families, churches, scout troops, community groups and
businesses to take part in creating shoe box gifts for needy children worldwide.
PACK—Fill shoe boxes with school supplies, toys, necessity items and a
letter of encouragement. Step-by-step shoe box packing instructions are
available at
www.samaritanspurse.org/occ.
PROCESS—Sign up to join Operation Christmas Child volunteers at
collection sites in Tampa Bay as part of the effort to prepare millions of shoe
box gifts for delivery to underprivileged kids on six continents.
For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, visit
www.samaritanspurse.org/occ. National Collection Week for gift-filled
shoe boxes is Nov. 14-21; however, shoe box gifts are collected all year at
the Samaritan’s Purse headquarters in Boone, N.C.
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