Editor:
I am writing to thank and celebrate Botetourt residents for spreading joy to children in need around the world. Hundreds of area volunteers, families and groups take time every year to carefully shop for and create gifts by filling as many shoeboxes as possible. With the help of generous Botetourt residents, the Roanoke Valley/Alleghany area collected 12,200 shoebox gifts in 2016 as part of the global effort to reach more than 12 million children for the Samaritan’s Purse project Operation Christmas Child— the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind.
The gift-filled shoeboxes are tangible expressions of God’s love for children around the world suffering from poverty, natural disaster, war, disease and famine. These children, many of whom have never received a gift before, learn they are loved and not forgotten. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 135 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 150 countries and territories.
It’s not too late for people to make a difference. Though the area drop-off locations are closed until November 2017, gift-filled shoeboxes are collected year-round at the Samaritan’s Purse headquarters in Boone, N.C. Additionally, anyone can conveniently pack a personalized Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift at samaritanspurse.org/occ. Information about year-round volunteer opportunities can also be found on the website or by calling 540-353-5595.
Thank you again to everyone who participated in this project and for those who do so year after year. These simple gifts, packed with love, send a message of hope and continue to transform the lives of children worldwide.
Kris Stutsman
Operation Christmas Child
