Thousands of gifts collected by community members for children in need

Fresno residents donated 22,700 gifts for children in need around the world during Operation Christmas Child’s National Collection Week from Nov. 16-23.

During the collection week, community members packed empty shoeboxes with toys, school supplies and hygiene items for the Fresno Operation Christmas Child Area Team.

Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief organization.

The organization hopes to deliver gifts to 11 million children this year.

Those who missed the National Collection Week can get involved online at samaritanspurse.org/buildonline. Visitors can select a child’s age and gender, shop through an online selection of gifts and write a note of encouragement to the child who will receive the gift.

For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call 714-432-7030 or visit samaritanspurse.org/occ.

This story was originally published December 13, 2015 at 10:47 PM with the headline "Thousands of gifts collected by community members for children in need."