Volunteers with Operation Christmas Child will be collecting donations from Nov. 16 to 23 this year with a curbside-dropoff system in place so donors can maintain physical distancing to slow the spread of COVID-19 in this unprecedented year.
The project typically consists of volunteers collecting donations and delivering shoebox gifts filled with school supplies, personal hygiene items and small toys to children in over 100 countries, worldwide.
For 2020, volunteers have organized 4,000 dropoff locations across the nation.
Although Operation Christmas Child is just one project run by non-profit Samaritan’s Purse, this particular project has been an annual event for more than two decades and donations are gathered year-round to fill boxes in November.
San Diego area coordinator Heather Browning said it is important to remember that although times are tough in San Diego, “our problems pale in comparison to what children in some other countries are going through”.
She said information on the program can be found at samaritanspurse.org, including anecdotes on how people are creatively gathering donations while remaining distanced and an interactive map with donation sites that can be located by typing in a zip code or address.
Chula Vista organizer Carla Padilla of Canyon Community Church said Operation Christmas Child is a really unique program and so large that some churches and organizations set out buckets well in advance to collect donations all year long.
“For a lot of people, this is a 12-month commitment; our church usually has a big event in March or April that was canceled this year with COVID,” Padilla said.
Although Padilla is aware “some volunteer participation is limited with aging congregations and there are concerns to bear in mind,” she believes the year will result in different donations than usual though not necessarily fewer donations.
“This isn’t a huge humanitarian effort and from a humanitarian standpoint we’re not saving anyone with these toys but whether it is an off year or an awesome year, God can work with that and do just as much,” Padilla said.
The Samaritan’s Purse website offers specific suggestions on how to pack a small shoebox with items for an unknown child, including age and gender of a potential recipient, however Padilla said even unusual donations can turn out to be perfect for the recipient.
One year, she said, they donated ratchet straps for older kids along with hand tools.
“People will say they don’t know why they put something in the boxes but they felt called to do so,” Padilla said.
For a fee, donors are able to track the package and find out where the present landed for the holidays.
