It's time to consider the holidays, and these Operation Christmas Child Needs are a great place to begin teaching your children about giving back. The holidays often get so commercialized that we forget to pause and think about those who aren't as fortunate. If your family makes an effort to give back, then Operation Christmas Child is a perfect option.
3 Operation Christmas Child Needs
If you aren't sure about what this is, check out the website for Samaritan's Purse to learn more about Operation Christmas Child. Once you understand how this program works to gather donations to give to children in need, you'll be able to share more details with your family.
Volunteers to gather and delivery to locations
One of the important factors people forget is that this program needs more volunteers to collect the boxes once assembled, as well as to deliver to shipping locations. This is a great way for you to give time to help others, and show your children about how selfless giving of your time can impact others in need.
Quality gift items
All too often, the items included in the shoeboxes gathered for this program are less than quality. While anything is better than nothing, junk that breaks fast is just a waste of space. Instead of buying a lot of cheap things, invest in one or two quality items for the box.
Their website recommends donations of the following items:
- A "Wow" Item. They recommend a clothing item, ball with a manual air pump so it can be inflated, doll or stuffed animal, or a small musical instrument like a harmonica. This should be the bigger ticket item that will be a specialty gift.
- Personal care Items: A comb or brush, toothbrush, a washcloth, soap, small blanket, or colorful Band-Aids.
- Clothing items: Shirts and pants, underwear, socks, pillowcase dress, shoes or flip flops, hats, hair bows, bag or purse.
- Crafts or activities: Pencils, markers, pencil sharpener, coloring books, notepads, stickers, jump rope.
- Toys: The list varies, but includes things like balls, an Etch a Sketch, slinky, Playdough, or clay.
Dual purpose boxes
The box that you put your Operation Christmas Child items into, should also be something that can be used by the recipient in the future. There are tons of sturdy plastic or wooden boxes that work well for this. The idea is to give them something that transports the item, but also adds a functionality.
This year, you can make a huge impact during the holidays and year-round, by donating and creating an Operation Christmas Child box. Join with others, and your family, to make an impact on a community outside your own.
More Christmas Ideas:
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Melissa is a soccer mom who has been married to her best friend for 21 years. She loves sharing recipes, travel reviews and tips that focus on helping busy families make memories.
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