Canadians once again showed their generous side for the Operation Christmas Child shoe box campaign.
More than 662,000 shoe boxes packed with toys, hygiene items, and school supplies were donated for the 2012 campaign.
During the next few weeks, children in Haiti, Senegal, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Paraguay, Guatemala, and Venezuela will be receiving shoe boxes packed by caring Canadians.
“Sending over 662,000 lovingly packed shoe boxes of gifts to needy children around the world is simply a thrilling task for us,” said Randy Crosson, director of Operation Christmas Child Canada, a program of international Christian relief and development organization Samaritan’s Purse Canada. “Each shoe box is an opportunity to show these children – who likely have never before received a gift – that they are loved by God and by generous Canadians from coast to coast.”
More than 4,300 shoe boxes were packed online through http://packabox.ca. This online option is available year-round for those who are unable to shop for gifts and pack shoe boxes in the traditional way.
Since 1993, Samaritan’s Purse has collected and hand-delivered more than 100 million shoe box gifts to children in more than 130 countries hurt by war, poverty, natural disaster, disease, and famine.