Packing - Dranesville United Methodist Church

Operation Christmas Child
Helpful Hints and Information for Project Leaders and
Others who LOVE PACKING SHOEBOXES
There were LOTS of great ideas that were shared at our PROJECT LEADER TRAINING. Here are a few of the highlights
and things that you may wish to share with the churches and organizations that you know are packing shoeboxes.
WHAT SHOULD and SHOULD NOT GO IN A SHOEBOX?
NOT:
 WAR RELATED TOYS – army men, toy guns, water guns…
 ANY LIQUIDS – lotions, bubble, nail polish, shampoos,
conditioners, juice boxes
 USED ITEMS – that are not “like new”. Anything that looks like
it has been used or is worn. GIVE GOD OUR BEST!
 FOOD – Any perishable foods like granola bars, cracker packs,
chocolates…
 MEDICATIONS – vitamins, ointments
Operation Christmas Child would like everyone to carefully consider the quality of the items that go into a shoebox.
Items don’t need to be expensive (see below for MANY WAYS TO SAVE $$), but should be of good quality. These may be
the ONLY gifts that some of these children ever receive so they should LAST AS LONG AS POSSIBLE! Listen to what GOD
wants you to put in the box. HE has a purpose for EVERY item!
GOOD IDEAS:
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One WOW ITEM!
Think of one REALLY
NICE item that will
probably be the
favorite of the child.
Soccer ball (deflated)
with an air pump or
baseball and glove are
great ideas for boys.
A special doll or stuffed animal to love, a Tonka truck, tools or any other item
that would be appropriate for a child of the age you chose.
HYGIENE ITEMS- bar soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, wash cloth, deodorant (for older kids), BandAids, nail clippers.
(covers and containers for toothbrushes and soap are also helpful).
SCHOOL SUPPLIES – pencils or colored pencils with sharpeners, pens, crayons, solar calculator, paper, notebooks,
coloring books for younger kids
CLOTHING – Plain T-shirt, underwear, socks, flip-flops, scarf…
TOYS AND OTHER- Flashlights with extra batteries, marbles, spinning tops, jump ropes, bouncy balls, tote bags,
sturdy plastic cups
CANDY – Hard candy, lollipops, Smarties and GUM!
SOMETHING PERSONAL – a note or picture of YOU or YOUR GROUP shows the child that a person loves them
WHAT ARE SOME TRICKS FOR PACKING A FULL BOX?
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It is OK to remove new items from packaging in order to make room in the box for more items. It may be a
good idea to keep toothpaste in its box – just in case!
Use plastic zip-locking bags – or even double bag – for candy and bar soaps.
Any time you can put one item inside of another item (ex. a bag of candy inside of a plastic cup) do so to
create extra space.
Preprinted OCC GO Boxes are just the right size! (GOSPEL OPPORTUNITY) Although plastic boxes seem like a
great idea, they often break and take up more space in cartons – less children get boxes .
PROJECT LEADERS – When you are encouraging members of your church or organization to pack shoeboxes,
it is very effective to prepare a SAMPLE GIRL’S AND BOY’S BOX (and perhaps a BAD idea box) as pictured
above. That visual and your ideas will help people to get a better idea of what to include.
HOW CAN I SAVE MONEY $ ON ITEMS FOR MY BOX?
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Shop ALL YEAR long so you can take advantage of sales throughout the year. Examples
o After each holiday there are many items that are discounted
(many stores up to 90% off) that could be great items for boxes –
like a Spring Bunny stuffed animal, socks with Valentine hearts or
pencils with snowmen on them.
o Back to school sales in July and August are great times to get
notebooks, crayons and colored pencils.
Take advantage of Facebook and other blogs that are always on the
lookout for good sales on items for shoeboxes. The following are some good ones:
o https://www.facebook.com/ClipwithPurpose - A wonderful way that people from all over the country
keep an eye on sale items and let others know when and where to look for good deals.
o http://occnwpa.blogspot.com/ - Great ideas for packing shoeboxes for OCC
Shop in BULK – even from Amazon! Examples:
*Nail clippers – 72 for $18.44 - .25 cents each
*Combs – 144 for $11.00 – Less than .08 cents each
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Ask for donations of GENTLY USED ITEMS. An HOA newsletter or church bulletin
announcement work well! If you can clean them up to look like new (and be sure to
clean them!) then you can use them in a shoebox. BEANIE BABIES, in particular, can be
machine washed and dried and come out looking BRAND NEW. Just take the tags off
first – no child in Africa cares about that tag!!
PROJECT LEADERS: Help your church or organization to think about Operation Christmas Child all through
the year. Perhaps you can put out a box each month to collect a different item for a fall packing party! In
January collect toothpaste and toothbrushes, in February – hard candy. In March – bar soaps…
SPEAKING OF SAVING $$...
Here is a good idea to help save up the $7.00 to go with the shoebox for shipping
costs. Give out, or encourage people to purchase one of the M&M candy cylinders. Put a
label on it to tell people what to
do: EAT the candy and then save
quarters in the container. The
small ones fit enough $ for 2
shoebox shipping costs.
ADORABLE!!
CAN I MAKE THINGS TO GO IN MY SHOEBOX?
OF COURSE!!! God has given many ‘crafty’ abilities! Use them for HIS GLORY and put items in your shoeboxes that have
been made with love! Here is a Facebook page dedicated to Shoebox craft ideas:
https://www.facebook.com/craftingforshoeboxes
Some other wonderful ideas that we have seen made locally:
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Spinning tops made out of old CDs- Use a sticker decal to make the top
look pretty. Hot glue a marble on the bottom and a plastic cap (from a
water bottle or the new squeeze applesauce packets) on the top. They
spin for a really long time!!!
Mini –Kits! The ones pictured were all packed into used vitamin containers – but could be put in any small
container.
o Fishing Kit – a bobber, a small wooden dowel or clothespin with a small eye hook screwed into one end,
fishing line, a few weights and lures.
o Sewing Kit – pins, needles, safety pins, variety of buttons and threads.
o Marble Kit – a circle of twine tied to make the circle for the marble game, marbles and picture
directions. http://www.landofmarbles.com/marbles-play.html for picture instructions.
 Little Heart Signs – Painted, decorated and hangers
of wire and beads.
 Crocheted blankets for dolls.
 Sundresses! Each pocket had a little something
special in it for the little girl who would receive it!
PROJECT LEADERS: Have several crafty people in your church or organization? Arrange a monthly or
occasional OCC CRAFTING DAY get together and have them make the items together.
NEED MORE IDEAS?
www.pinterest.com/occshoeboxes/
www.facebook.com/OCCshoeboxes
www.youtube.com/user/SamaritansPurseVideo
vine.co/u/930852043814490112
instagram.com/operationchristmaschild/
twitter.com/occ_shoeboxes
@OCC_shoeboxes
Check out Operation Christmas Child on
SO MANY IDEAS!!
More crafts – Packing Parties – OCC snacks – Parade ideas – Box Costumes – OCC stories
Ideas for items to put in boxes for each age and gender
Visit also the main website for Operation Christmas Child
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child
You can watch videos, read stories from people who have received boxes, order supplies for
yourself or your church, order GO Boxes, or even pack a shoebox ONLINE!
PERHAPS YOU DIDN’T KNOW:
How does my box get from ME to a CHILD?
1. You pack a box and take it to your church/organization
2. Then they take the shoeboxes to a local RELAY CENTER. At the Relay Center, volunteers place the
individual shoeboxes into cardboard CARTONS.
3.
The Relay Center then transports the cartons to a nearby COLLECTION CENTER where
the cartons are loaded into tractor trailers. NOVA Collection
Centers are currently in Alexandria, Leesburg and Manassas.
4. The tractor trailers then take the cartons to the nearest PROCESSING
CENTER. At this point the cartons are unloaded and each shoebox is individually opened
and inspected to be sure that it has no restricted items, any cash or checks for the box
shipping costs are removed and additional items may be added to boxes if they are not
quite as full as they can be. At this point the boxes are now sorted into cartons marked
with the AGE and GENDER that they are intended for. NOTE: The average number of
shoeboxes that fit in a carton is approximately 16. It is possible to fit up to 23 of the OCC GO boxes
into a carton. Why is this important? The receiving countries and locations get
approved for the number of CARTONS they are approved for. Using average numbers,
they determine how many children may be able to receive a shoebox. So, if a carton
has 23 boxes, more children will receive them at that distribution location… but if
there are only 10 boxes in a carton (because they were larger boot boxes or plastic
containers) then there may be some children who leave without a box.  OCC will certainly accept
ANY BOX… but just so you are aware… there are ramifications!
5. The GENDER AND AGE APPROPRIATE CARTONS are then divided up and shipped
via truck, cargo ship or airplane to the countries of destination.
6. Each DESTINATION COUNTRY has their own team of volunteers who do all of the
legal paperwork, raise the money to pay any IMPORT FEES, and make arrangements for transportation
of the cartons to their DISTRIBUTION SITES.
7. Then, LOCAL PASTORS arrange the time and place for the
DISTRIBUTION and GIVE THE CHILDREN THEIR SHOEBOXES!
Depending on where the
shoeboxes are going to, this
travel process can take up to 9
months or so. It is not unusual to
have distributions in AUGUST of the following year!
Is the journey done there? NO!! It is just beginning!
During the DISTRIBUTIONS, when the children receive their shoeboxes, the GOOD NEWS OF JESUS is presented to the
children – the GOSPEL OPPORTUNITY! For many children who accept Jesus as their Savior, they are then invited to
participate in a 12 lesson discipleship course called THE GREATEST
JOURNEY! (74 Countries so far) Families commit to allowing their
children to attend 12 lessons and learn more about Faith in Jesus and
what the Bible teaches using a beautifully colorful workbook that is in
their native language. At the completion of the course, they have a
graduation ceremony in which they receive a Bible also in their own
language. This is a wonderful opportunity for local pastors to make
connections with local families. It is estimated that each shoebox that
is given results in AT LEAST 7 people hearing the Gospel of Jesus!
The cost of
THE
GREATEST
JOURNEY
Discipleship
programs is
separate from $7
that it costs to
ship the shoeboxes. You can choose to donate to
Samaritan’s Purse in order to help pay for the cost of these
wonderful workbooks and Bibles. $6.00 is the cost to put
one child through THE GREATEST JOURNEY! Perhaps you could encourage the people who you know to give not only
their $7.00 of shipping per box, but also the $6.00 for discipleship of one child as well. (Those M&M containers could
pay for both!!) For more information go to http://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/the-greatest-journey/
Where in the World do shoeboxes go?
This map shows the countries in GREEN that are donating
shoeboxes and the countries in RED where OCC has had
distributions since 1998. 139 Countries so far! They do not
necessarily go back to the same countries every year. In fact,
as a general rule, OCC will not return to the same location (city,
town or village) until 10 years have passed! So a child will only
ever receive 1 shoebox!
How many shoeboxes were collected in 2014?
NOVA Area-26,539
Nationally- 7,991,643
Mid-Atlantic Region-1,023,125
Internationally-10,433,333
THAT SOUNDS LIKE A LOT!!! Is it enough?
How many more Shoeboxes are needed?
Here is the need in just one Country… INDIA.
352,866,393
Number of Children
14 and under in INDIA
Population of the
United States
315,232,044
Number of
Shoeboxes sent to
India since 1998!
8,268,800
2014 – 198,128
Shoeboxes to India
Thank you for ALL THAT YOU DO to reach out to children around the world with
GOD’S LOVE in simple gifts. Thank you for sharing this information with those in your
church or organization so they will also become passionate about reaching MORE
CHILDREN with the Gospel of Jesus though shoebox gifts!
If you have any further questions about anything in this handout, or your role as
Project Leader, please contact the Church or Community Relations Representative
that sent you this handout. We hope it was helpful!