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To a child living in a country facing poverty, disaster, disease or the effects of war, the gift of something as simple as a washcloth can be life-changing and this time of year, through Operation Christmas Child, the local community can participate in that happening.
Operation Christmas Child, which is part of the international relief organization Samaritan's Purse, sends shoeboxes filled with various items for children, aged two through 14, world-wide.
"We fill shoe boxes with small toys, personal items, school supplies, things like that, and they are sent with the good news of Jesus Christ," said Kirsten Crooks, the area coordinator.
"We ship them to children outside of the United States to countries that are war-stricken, impoverished, where disease or disaster has affected their life," she added.
And yes, the shoeboxes are just that in some form.
"They can be literal shoeboxes. When I first started packing shoeboxes, I would go to a big box store that sold shoes, and I would just say, 'Hey, do you have any empty shoeboxes,'" Crooks said.
"Now, as times have changed, Samaritan's Purse has now printed shoeboxes. So you can use your own, you can use little plastic totes, or you can use their pre-printed shoeboxes," she said.
The items that go into the shoeboxes are really up to the individuals packing them, although there are certain items that are more useful and there are some that should be avoided because of them being shipped to foreign countries.
"From personal experience-we pack a lot of shoeboxes-in our family we enjoy putting washcloths in shoeboxes. We've heard lots of good things about washcloths, but there was a child in an orphanage, and he had received a washcloth in his shoebox, and he was so excited. That was the best item to him because he officially had his own towel. That was impactful for me. We always make sure to have that washcloth in there," Crooks shared.
"Another thing is pencils. So there was a child who received a 12-pack of pencils in his shoebox, and he was so excited because he had one pencil for all of his school years that he would have. And in his particular area, they got one pencil per year. If you lost it, you didn't have a pencil. So that was just a really exciting gift. So those are two very very important items," she said.
Beyond those two essentials, Crooks said that she likes to include something soft that can just feel like a comfort toy for the child. Toys, such as balls, a toy truck or a doll can be added.
"When we pack, she has set up a large table with all of these cute little things. She actually makes homemade bracelets because high quality crafts are okay as long as they can be mailable. We try to avoid anything that has glass, liquid, or food because customs in certain countries are going to hold up these shoeboxes, or potentially not even put those shoeboxes out. So those are the items I would generally stay away from," she said.
There is no set spending limit on what goes into the shoeboxes, either, it's how much people are led to spend. Crooks said that she knows people who buy in bulk and fill large amounts of shoeboxes. They can pack a shoe box for much less.
"I also know that there are people who spend $100. It's really however you feel led. It's just about being an intentional, personal gift," she said.
She said that she tells people to think of what their own child would love to receive so that they're not filling the shoeboxes with a lot of things that don't make sense.
"It's going to real boys and girls," she said,
"I had the opportunity to actually go to South Africa and give these shoeboxes to kids...they're just real kids. They have the same wants and as the kids here, pretty much. Maybe their desires are smaller because they haven't ever received a gift before. Many times these kids don't even know what the word gift means. So it's a little bit different in that sense. But as far as what they love, it's so similar to children here in the U.S.," Crooks said.
Those donating shoeboxes are also encouraged to include a personal message for the recipient.
"We don't want the child to just think, "Oh, this is another organization." Because third world countries receive support from different organizations all the time. We want them to understand that this box was individually packed, and that they are seen. I think that's probably the biggest deal," Crooks said.
"When you put a handwritten note or a picture or something in there, they know it came from a real family or a real person," she added.
There is a $10 donation per box in order to cover the cost of shipping. That fee also enables the donor to see where their box goes by tracking the package.
Crooks said that she feels it's important to get children involved in packing a box.
She shared memories of growing up and filling and wrapping shoeboxes without really knowing what they were for. Then on a youth field trip to a central drop-off she helped fill boxes and then load them on tractor trailer trucks for shipping. She remembers there being thousands and thousands of boxes that were being loaded.
"Then afterwards, they sat down and talked to us about what a shoebox was, where they went, and what we were doing, and that was it for me. By the time I was 19, I was packing around 100 shoeboxes a year, and then it fluctuated from anywhere from 100 to 500, and having mass packing parties to get people to fill these shoeboxes," she said.
"It's great to serve as a retiree. It's great to serve as an adult, but it's so impactful, and kids really enjoy serving by filling a shoe box or serving at a local drop-off," she added.
She noted that they have had local football teams and youth groups come to help pack the trucks for shipping.
Filled shoeboxes can be brought to the drop-off sites during National Collection Week during allotted hours.
Operation Christmas Child started in 1993 for war-stricken children, and since then filled shoeboxes have gone to over 244 million children across 175 countries and territories.
"These gifts are generally full life impacting gifts. They aren't this one and done-like, oh cool, you spoiled them for one day," Crooks said.
"A lot of times, because of the situations these children come from, that shoebox gift is remembered throughout their life and did impact them in some way," she added.