As local families tackle their back-to-school shopping lists, some area residents are also buying supplies for children in need around the world.
Mtn. Grove resident Cassie Todd is among the volunteers collecting notebooks, markers and pencils, alongside personal care items and toys, to fill shoebox gifts for Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child project.
The gift-filled shoeboxes will be sent to children in more than 100 countries, providing essential supplies that are often considered a luxury for many families. Operation Christmas Child, a project of the Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse, seeks to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need and share the Gospel.
“I love working with my family to help other families,” said Todd, who has volunteered with the project for nine years. “We love to carefully pick out items that we think the children will light up about. For some of these children, this will be the only gift they ever receive. It is so much fun to imagine the delight they will exude as they open the box we so carefully put together as a family.”
In 2026, Operation Christmas Child organizers hope to collect enough shoeboxes to reach 12.8 million children. Since 1993, the initiative has collected and delivered more than 244 million shoeboxes to children in more than 175 countries and territories.
National Collection Week is scheduled for Nov. 16 through 23. Participants can donate $10 per shoebox gift online through the “Follow Your Box” program to receive a tracking label and discover their box's destination.
Those who prefer the convenience of online shopping can browse samaritanspurse.org/buildonline to select gifts matched to a child’s specific age and gender, then finish packing the virtual shoebox by adding a photo and personal note of encouragement.
For more information, call 816-622-8316 or visit samaritanspurse.org/occ.
