Today, November 18th starts National Collection week, NCW for Operation Christmas Child’s shoebox collection. Through November 25th, volunteers will bring in their boxes filled with donated items, like toys, activities, and clothing. The nonprofit group is under the umbrella of Samaritan’s Purse, a worldwide company that works toward international relief.
In total, 170 countries will receive more than 11 million donated boxes.
After dropping at one’s local church, they will head to Mizpah United Methodist Church, which has served as the drop off spot for Clay County. From there, boxes head to JCNaz, the collection spot for the ten surrounding areas, said Zac Vakadewatabua, National Spokesperson for OCC.
Then the boxes will either be shipped to Denver or Texas, depending on the direction they will go once processed.
In all, Vakadewatabua said there are six processing centers in the U.S. After a speaking stint in South Carolina, he will head to Atlanta to help with the processing checklist as a table coach. His role is to train volunteers how to secure each shoebox.
Each processing center is open for a month where they check boxes for donations and/or notes addressed to the organization. Next, workers ensure there is no contraband in the boxes, which could include food items or liquid. They also have to ensure there are no weapon or military-themed toys, as they could go against country standards, depending where they end up.
“Once you take anything out, you put something back in,” he said. Adding that they have “filler baskets” with toys donated from area churches. “Say I remove a toy gun, then there’s a space so we will add something to replenish that space.”
Next, tapers close up boxes before they are scanned and loaded onto a conveyer belt. Once a container is filled, a chaplain will call off the loading, and the entire place stops to pray for the CONEX.
“Every hour or 30 minutes in the processing center we stop to pray for those items,” he said.
This is done to help spread the message along with the boxes of gifts, he said. Last year, 11.3 million boxes were packed, he said.
“We received a report that 3.3 million kids gave their life to Jesus,” he said. “It’s a big yield and that’s where my heart is. I may be biased because I work with the company, but I think it’s the biggest form of child evangelism in the World.”
For donors who have not yet filled their OCC shoebox, Vakadewatabua said he recommends including a note with your gifts.
“I emphasize for them to be personalized,” he said. “Make sure the child feels like the box is uniquely for them. And it matters what we put in the box, it matters what we pray over the box. I believe God uses all of those items to speak to the heart of the child.”
Boxes can be dropped off at Mizpah Church in Wakefield Monday through Friday from 11 am to 1 pm, Saturday 9-3 and Sunday 11-4 or by appointment. Schedule by calling Kay at 785-375-9566.
