Ninety-six boxes filled with gifts were collected by members of Hopkinton’s St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and Grace United Methodist Church for children in need throughout the world.
The donations are part of Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, the group responsible for distributing the boxes filled with toys, school supplies and hygiene items.
“I am so deeply moved by the continued interest and participation of the congregations of St. Paul’s and Grace Methodist,” said Sue Ramsley, one of the coordinators of the Operation Christmas Child project and senior warden at St. Paul’s. “One grandmother at Grace Methodist put together 11 boxes working individually with each grandchild! She even created a scrapbook of the process.”
Members of St. Paul’s and Grace United who have contributed to the boxes can sign up on-line for email alerts to learn when and to what country their boxes are scheduled to ship.
“We pray that each child who receives a shoe box will feel very special and will have the opportunity to learn more about God’s love,” Ramsley added.
Operation Christmas Child is a project Samaritan’s Purse, headed by Franklin Graham. The organization is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. While Samaritan’s Purse works to meet critical physical needs, such as clean water, health care and food, Operation Christmas Child addresses a different need.
This week (November 14 -21) is National Collection week for Operation Christmas Child, and anyone who would like to participate can call (800) 353-5949 or visit their website. Operation Christmas Child plans to collect and deliver eight million boxes to children in more than 100 countries this Christmas season.