We at Florissant Valley Christian Church have been packing shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child for several years. Each year we set a goal and each year we have surpassed that goal. Many in our congregation collect items for our boxes all year round. We watch for bargains, sales and check clearance racks whenever and wherever we are shopping. There are work days to make things to go in our boxes and to wrap and decorate boxes. Sometime in the fall the first boxes arrive and they just keep coming.

We have a chart, where we put up stickers to keep track of our progress. On November 12, 2017 we lined up and passed boxes to people waiting to fill a van. This year our goal was 200 and we packed 244 into the van. This is truly an all church project, some pray, some donate money and some pack boxes. Our boxes are then taken to a collection center, then they go to a larger collection center and then to one of 3 processing centers to be checked and sent all over the world.

Typical items packed are hygiene items (wash cloth, bar of soap, toothbrush, and comb or brush), school supplies (crayons, markers, erasers, pencils and sharpeners, paper and coloring books), and toys that will fit in the box (usually a WOW toy of some sort, we try to put in a stuffed animal).

Story and photos submitted by Carol Mayer.