National collection week for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes for children in need

Fresno and Clovis churches are taking part this week in the national collection for Operation Christmas Child, a campaign where shoeboxes are filled with gifts, school supplies and hygiene items for children living in poverty around the world.

The collection week continues through Monday, Nov. 20. A list of drop-off locations is available online at samaritanspurse.org.

Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization. Its Fresno-area team hopes to collect more than 26,600 filled shoeboxes, which will be part of the overall effort to help 12 million children affected by war, disease, disaster, poverty and famine.

Shoebox gifts can also be purchased online at samaritanspurse.org/buildonline, along with a $9 tracking label through “Follow Your Box” to find its destination.

Operation Christmas Child has more than 150,000 volunteers and has collected and delivered more than 146 million gift-filled shoeboxes since 1993 to children in more than 160 countries and territories.

This story was originally published November 13, 2017 at 1:28 PM with the headline "National collection week for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes for children in need."