Special to The T&D

Local volunteers are collecting shoe box gifts personally packed by children, families and individuals in the Midlands through Monday, Nov. 24.

The shoe box gifts will then be sorted and sent using whatever means necessary -- sea containers, trucks, buses, trains, airplanes, helicopters, boats, camels, even dog sleds -- to reach suffering children around the world through Operation Christmas Child.

Locally, shoe boxes full of surprises are being collected at First Baptist Church Family Life Center, 2875 Columbia Road, Orangeburg. The center will collect shoe boxes Friday, Nov. 21, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 22, from 9 a.m. to noon; Sunday, Nov. 23, from 1 to 3 p.m.; and Monday, Nov. 24, from 8 to 10 a.m. For more information, call 1-800-704-1268.

Additional collection sites are located statewide. For more collection sites, visit www.samaritanspurse.org.

Families, churches, scout troops, community groups and businesses are invited to take part in creating shoe box gifts for needy children worldwide. Shoe boxes should be filled with school supplies, toys, necessity items, candy and a letter of encouragement. Step-by-step shoe box packing instructions are available at www.samaritanspurse.org.

Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child, a project of international Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse, headed by Franklin Graham, has delivered more than 61 million gift-filled shoe boxes to needy children in some 130 countries.

For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call 704-538-1463 or visit www.samaritanspurse.org.

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