OLDS — Volunteers at the First Baptist Church in Olds collected and sent out about 1,005 containers for the Operation Christmas Child shoebox collection campaign last week, down only three from last year, according to pastor Andy Moffat.
On Nov. 25, boxes were loaded from the church into a horse trailer bound for Calgary.
The Operation Christmas Child shoebox collection campaign is organized by Samaritan's Purse, a Christian relief and development organization.
Each shoebox is filled with hygiene items, school supplies, toys and candy, and is given to children regardless of gender, race or religion. On the heels of the shoebox distributions, local churches, etc., deliver a Bible study course.
Moffat says people began coming into the church to pick up the boxes about a month ago.
“Some people fill their own shoe boxes that they've collected over the year, and some fill Rubbermaid boxes or even backpacks,” he wrote in an email.
From Olds, the trailer delivered the boxes to the Samaritan's Purse Warehouse in Calgary.
“There they will be opened and sorted to make sure that there is nothing inappropriate in the boxes - each country has different rules about can and can't be included,” Moffat wrote.
