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Community members of all ages gathered at Meadowbrook Community Church around tables filled with toys they wanted to include in their shoebox gifts for Operation Christmas Child.

Children were hoisted up by their parents to look at things grouped on long folding tables, which ranged from toothpaste and sewing kits to footballs and stuffed animals.

Operation Christmas Child is an opportunity for someone to send a gift-filled shoebox to children in need around the world. Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse — a Christian organization that provides international relief. According to the Samaritan’s Purse website, Operation Christmas Child has delivered over 135 million shoeboxes to children in more than 150 countries and territories since it began in 1993.

On Thursday, Meadowbrook Community Church hosted a packing party in hopes of getting as much of the community involved in the movement as possible.

To participate, individuals and groups of all ages filled recycled shoeboxes with fun toys, hygiene items, school supplies and an optional letter.

Shoeboxes are categorized by age groups such as two to four years old or 10 to 14 years old. The boxes are then taken to the nearest drop-off location where Samaritan’s Purse collects the gifts during National Collection Week, which is this week.

Meadowbrook Community Church has been a drop-off site for nearly 15 years. This year was its third annual church-wide event dedicated to packing as many shoeboxes as possible.

Loretta Auvil, area coordinator for east central Illinois and year-round volunteer for Operation Christmas Child, said for many of these children, the shoebox might be the first gift they ever receive.

“A simple shoebox gift can let children suffering from poverty, natural disaster, disease, war or famine know that they are loved and not forgotten,” Auvil said. “It is a message of hope and love that can make a tremendous impact in the life of a child, their family and entire community.”

This year’s packing party allowed the church to surpass their goal of 300 shoeboxes by 16 boxes. The church also packed more boxes for older age groups.

Jerilyn Stratton, Operation Christmas Child year-round volunteer, said the biggest difference she has seen in her two years volunteering with Meadowbrook is the volume of people involved.

“For us, it’s a mission. When you talk to kids about reaching other people and thinking of others other than themselves, it’s just a way of teaching them that it’s better to give sometimes,” Stratton said. “And they really have to think about it. They really have to think about what somebody they don’t know is going to like in that box.”

Stratton said the church’s goal for next year is to reach out to the University. She hopes to see more students get involved in making shoeboxes or even start a packing party themselves.

Dee Hines, a community member and volunteer, said that although she lives in Philo, Meadowbrook will always be her church. Hines was one of the community members who pushed for the church to host a packing party three years ago. She said she is more than proud of how far the event has come.

“I think we’re just growing. And that’s the goal. To just, each year, pack more boxes and bless more children. To get the word out that you don’t have to be a missionary — and maybe you’re not called to be a missionary — but Operation Christmas Child has made it so easy to pack a shoebox that is going to touch somebody’s life somewhere that you may never go,” Hines said.

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