We have been participating in Operation Christmas Child for a number of years now and it is something that we look forward to each year! It has been a great way for us (as a family) to be a blessing to others! Each year, without fail, we are reminded of what a blessing it is to be able to bless others in need!
This year I will be blogging through the process of packing our OCC boxes and I welcome you to join in and pack some shoe boxes yourself! So, for starters, if you are not familiar with Operation Christmas Child (aka OCC) here is some basic info:
What is Operation Christmas Child? OCC is a project designed to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to needy children around the world by providing them with shoe box gifts.
What is the shoe box for? Empty shoe boxes are filled with toys and gifts for needy children around the world!
What do I put in the shoe box? Check out the list of gift ideas to see what you would like to put in your shoe box gift.
Who started OCC? Operation Christmas Child is part of Samaritan’s Purse, which is an organization that is bringing relief and providing aid to those in need around the world while spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ! Check out what Samaritan’s Purse does in the stunning photo collection!
Who can participate in OCC? Anyone willing to fill a shoe box to bless a child in need can participate!
Who will receive the OCC shoe box gifts? Needy children around the world will receive the shoe box gifts!
How can I participate? Everything you need to know about participating in Operation Christmas Child and packing your shoe box gift can be found here!
How are the shoe box gifts distributed? Check out the Journey of a Shoe Box to find out the exact process involved in distributing the shoe box gifts.
When is OCC? You can begin preparing your shoe box gifts at any time of the year, but the National Collection Week is shown below.
When do I drop off my shoe box gifts? Drop off your shoe box gifts during the National Collection Week. The 2012 National OCC Collection Week is November 9-12.
Where do I drop of my box? Use the Drop off Locator form to determine locations where you can drop off your shoe box gift
Where will my box go? You can use the “Follow Your Box Donation” option to determine the destination of your shoe box gift!
Why was OCC started? The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Why do I need to include $7 with each shoebox? The $7 donation helps cover OCC project expenses like the cost of shipping your shoebox to a needy child! You can give online or by check.
Why do I have to use a shoe box? You don’t! You can use a similarly sized plastic storage container with a removable lid or other similarly sized box.
Why should I participate and fill a shoebox? I highly recommend that you to participate in Operation Christmas Child and I could give you all kinds of reasons why you should participate. But, there is a particular OCC video that brings me to tears every single time I watch it. I urge you to watch it and see the impact of a shoe box gift!
Disclosure: As a member of the iHomeschool Network’s Samaritan’s Purse Blogger Team, I write about the ministry on a volunteer basis. All posts are my own thoughts and do not necessarily reflect the views of Samaritan’s Purse. I am not on employee, agent, or contractor of Samaritan’s Purse.
Attention Bloggers: Please join in and help spread the word about this amazing organization by blogging about your Operation Christmas Child shoe box gifts and linking up your post(s) below!
Mama Jenn
Thanks Jamie!
Jamie Worley
This is a great FAQ kind of post! Love it! Thanks for posting such detail; I know it’ll be a big help to anyone new to OCC!
Mama Jenn
Hi Melissa! No, you do not have to identify yourself when doing OCC. However, you do need to include a $7 check in the box or pay the $7 online, which will enable you to track what country your shoebox goes to: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/followyourbox/ However, if you want it to be completely anonymous, I suppose you could include a cashier’s check or money order rather than a personal check. Hope that helps!
Melissa
I babysit my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter and I think this would be a wonderful Christmas project for her. I have a question, however — when we put the box together do we need to identify ourselves in anyway or can it be completely anonymous? Thanks for sharing this — it is a lovely, meaningful, important way to teach our children the importance of giving.
Mama Jenn
Awh, so sweet what your daughter said! It brings tears to my eyes e.v.e.r.y single time!!!
Two Cowgirls
Wow, that is a really powerful video! It brought tears to my eyes. We’ve been participating in OCC for 3 years. After watching that video, my 8 year old really “gets it” now. She said “Can we put shoes in our boxes?! Can we do more than two?!”
Mama Jenn
That is great that the schools got involved in such a worthy cause!!!
Mama Jenn
Hi Nikki! I just tried downloading them and had not problem. Be sure to make sure that you are using the most recent version of Adobe Reader. Usually updating that does the trick!
Mama Jenn
You will be so thankful you did! It is a way to bless others, but I always find that I feel so blessed to be able to BE a blessing to others!
learningtitus2
Oh – thanks for the reminder. We’ve saved a couple of shoeboxes this year to try and make sure we participate! 🙂
Nikki
Sorry to comment about an unrelated post, but I’ve been trying to download your Countdown to Advent cards (that can go along with the Truth in the Tinsel activities, and for some reason the numbers are not showing up on my download…I would just write them in myself, but some of the circles have this big black box on them:( Was wondering if anyone else mentioned this happening and was hoping to find a solution to the problem…I’d REALLY love to use these this year!!! Thanks so much!
Kimberley T
Both the primary and high schools I went to used to do this every year, they tried each year to get more shoe boxes than the year before. It’s such a great way for people to send things over to kids that would otherwise get nothing for Christmas