CARIBOU and MARS HILL — More than 4,000 locations will now offer a curbside drop-off option for the Samaritan’s Purse project Operation Christmas Child.
Local volunteers are preparing to collect shoebox gifts during National Collection Week, Nov. 16 – 23, at sites in Caribou and Mars Hill.
Operation Christmas Child has been collecting and delivering shoebox gifts, filled with school supplies, hygiene items and toys, to children worldwide for more than two decades. This is a project that everyone can still be a part of, even with COVID-19 restrictions.
There’s still time for individuals, families, and groups to transform empty shoeboxes into fun gifts. The project partners with local churches across the globe to deliver these tangible expressions of God’s love to children in need.
The program lists the following local collection times.
In Mars Hill, gifts may be dropped off at the United Baptist Church, 20 Church St., from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16; from 4 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17; from 9 to 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18; from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19; from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. both Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20 and 21; from 4 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22; and from 8 to 10 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 23.
In Caribou, the United Baptist Church, 74 High St., will accept gifts from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 16 and 17; from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 18 and 19; from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20 and 21; from 12 to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22; and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 23.
Signs at each location will identify the curbside drop off.
Find a step-by-step guide on the How to Pack a Shoebox webpage.
Those interested in more information on how Operation Christmas Child is making adjustments during its National Collection Week can visit the organization’s Important COVID-19 Updates webpage for the latest information.
Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, seeks to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 178 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 160 countries and territories.
