AMERICUS — Operation Christmas Child (OCC) will hold its kickoff Sept. 14 at First Baptist Church on South Lee Street.

OCC was started in 1993, and is a part of Samaritan’s Purse (SP), an organization founded by Franklin Graham. Since its start, OCC has sent boxes to over 130 countries.

Samaritan’s Purse was also in Americus a few years ago helping with the post-tornado destruction of March 2007. SP goes places where there are national disasters all over the world. They network with persons in the area and try to figure out the best estimate of age groups.

Denise Burgess of Americus has been working with this project for several years. She has worked in Atlanta in the project’s processing center and has been involved with spreading awareness about the project locally. According to Burgess, OCC became a larger local project after a group called Girls in Action (GIA) proposed more involvement through First Baptist Church of Americus. Several years ago, Byron was the original relay center for people sending OCC donations in this area. Then First Baptist Church became a relay center for the project, and people no longer had to make arrangements to send packages to Byron.

“The boxes usually go to about 100 different countries,” said Burgess.

An instruction list of how to package a shoe box gift is available for anyone who is interested in participating. The first step in packing a box includes selecting contents that might be desirable and useful for either a boy or a girl. Next, care should be taken to make sure that the package is secured well. Finally, the package is sent to a drop-off zone such as First Baptist Church, who then send the packages to a processing center in Atlanta. The packages are inspected to ensure that the contents are safe to send, and then the packages are shipped out all across the world.   

“We started in 2001,” said Burgess of First Baptist Church becoming an official relay center for the project. “That year, we collected about 1,600 shoe boxes from a seven-county area.”

Burgess said the highest rate of donations they’ve seen thus far was in 2008, when the number reached 4,072. Subsequently, that number dropped to 3,782 in 2009.

“So the economy had an impact, there,” Burgess said.

Burgess explained that part of her responsibility is to inform the area about OCC. “That’s what we hope to do with the kickoff at seven o’clock at First Baptist’s fellowship hall,” said Burgess. She explained that this time is used to invite groups that have participated in the past. She also encourages new people to become involved. The groups watch a video about the program, which shows children happily receiving gifts donated to OCC.

“You can’t watch this video and not want to participate,” Burgess said. “At this meeting, we’ll have demonstration videos and learn about new ways to get excited about the project. This is like a pep rally. We spread the word and get others excited about Operation Christmas Child. South Georgia Technical College provides a trailer as collecting point for these boxes. They’re received and taken to Atlanta from here.”

One thing OCC does is emphasize that the donated package should stay intact. When a package arrives in Atlanta, everything is taken out of the box to make sure nothing inside is dangerous or breakable. Also, there must not be anything included in the package that would insinuate violence, such as a toy knife or gun. No breakable items, chocolate or meltable foods or liquids are accepted. After all of the contents are inspected for safety, they are then placed in the original packaging.

“If you donate a scarf and it is received by a child in India, though the child might not use it for the purpose of keeping warm, the gift will still be appreciated because it has been given with loving intentions. Don’t worry so much about what country your gift is going to,” Burgess said.

One might decide to package the box with a girl or boy in mind, and with a particular age group in mind. The age groups include ages 2-4, 5-9 and 10-14 years. Among suggested items for packing are school supplies, hygiene items and non-melting candy. It is also possible to include such items as pictures of the donating party’s family with contact information, should the recipient choose to write back.

Burgess said there’s another way to help the OCC project: EZ Give. It allows you to make your shoe box donation online instead of inside the box and follow your box to its destination.

EZ Give is a simple, convenient way to make your shoe box donation online by using a credit or debit card, eliminating the need to place a check inside the box. Shipping and putting fuel in transportation vehicles costs money, as Burgess explained, so this is one way to provide help. You can also go online and print off a label that will differ from the generic boy/girl label that you will receive in person, should you donate.

“There are definitely more than 30 groups that bring these packages,” Burgess said. Most of the groups involved are churches, but that does not mean that only church groups can donate. “There are some sororities and classes and teachers that participate,” Burgess said. Students from Southland Academy and senior adults from Magnolia Manor participate, as well.

Burgess said this is an excellent way to teach children that there are other people that are not as fortunate in different parts of this world.

“It’s a good way to give back,” Burgess said. “This is a good project that anyone can do.”

Nov. 15-22 is set as the official deadline for the project, but as Burgess reminded, “We have to get our boxes up there before the actual deadline.” The boxes will be gathered the first Sunday of that week until the next Sunday.

Everyone is encouraged to participate in this project. Contact Denise Burgess 942-4521 or visit samaritanspurse.org for more information.