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Date: 12/3/2020
HAMPDEN – For over a decade, the Bethlehem Church’s group for retirees, known as torchbearers, has partnered with the Christian organization Samaritan’s Purse to fill shoeboxes with donations for Operation Christmas Child. This year, however, the effort to package gifts and care kits expanded to the entire church community and multiplied Hampden’s impact on children across the world.
Operation Christmas Child is a campaign that has been run annually since 1993 to give gifts to children in war-torn or impoverished areas around the world and evangelize at the same time. More than 178 million children have received shoeboxes in over 150 countries since the program began.
To participate, volunteers choose whether to send a box to a boy or girl and an age-range: 2 to 4, 5 to 9, or 10 to 14. A shoebox is then filled with what the organization calls “a medium to large ‘wow’ item” to capture the child’s interest as well as other toys, hygiene items, and school supplies.
Bethlehem Church Director of Outreach and Connection Lori Cooney told Reminder Publishing that some people in the church collect donations all year, buying items when they see something on sale. However, the church launched its campaign for donations in early October.
“People really stepped up this year,” Cooney said, adding that “all the different groups rallied,” to fill boxes and collect donations. The church’s children and teen ministries, the young adult group, Life Groups and Torchbearers each participated. She said members of the community also donated gifts and helped pack boxes. In the end, 217 boxes were filled.
“Operation Christmas Child shoebox project delivers not only the joy of what, for many kids, is their first gift ever, but also gives them a tangible expression of God’s love,” Cooney said in a press release. “As we continue to navigate a global pandemic, this year’s collection came with much excitement and generosity as we recognize that adults and children need hope throughout the world.”
Cooney said that the church “would love to get the word out” to encourage the community to participate in next year’s campaign.
Operation Christmas Child is not the only project through which Bethlehem Church has partnered with Samaritan’s Purse. In 2018, the church sent about a dozen people to a hurricane-ravaged community in North Carolina as part of a Samaritan's Purse outreach effort.
The church works with other organizations in the area, as well. In January, Bethlehem Church will be participating in Undies Sunday, collecting socks, underwear and T-shirts for the Springfield Rescue Mission. The organization works with the hungry, the local homeless population, those at risk of homelessness and those recovering from substance abuse.
“We really want to be a resource in the community,” Cooney said.
More information about Operation Christmas Child can be found at www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child.