SAMARITAN'S PURSE / OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

I am getting ready to send out my package for Samaritan's Purse/Operation Christmas Child
and thought I would share it here in case anyone else is interested in participating this year or in the future.

 

I learned of this opportunity to make a child's Christmas brighter over at The Krazy Coupon Lady
where you fill a shoe box with things a child might like, donate $7 for shipping and drop off 
about two months ago and she recommended buying throughout the year different things on clearance and using free samples.   She indicated she has been doing this for several years and stockpiles school supplies that she has gotten for nearly free, free gum samples, summer clearance items like sunglasses, visor, flip flops and 4th of July T-shirts after the holiday.   On Samaritan's Purse website they have a story of a little 5 year old boy who had a shoebox packing party for his 5th birthday. 

As I have a son, I decided on picking out things for a boy 5-9 years old and picked out things that he liked at that age from the The Dollar Tree, Target, Walmart and Walgreens.

I used a Zoo York shoebox that had contained from my son's 10 1/2 mens size which might be slightly above a standard shoe box, but it was all that I had on hand and I ended had to cram to get everything to go in, so you could get by with buying less than what I bought. 

I spent a little over $16 for all of the items pictured below.

• Smarties (Dollar Tree - $1)
• Planet Earth Coloring Book (Dollar Tree - $1)
• Notebooks (Walmart - .20 cents & .50 cents)
• Puzzle (Dollar Tree - $1)
• Cars bouncy ball  - (Dollar Tree - $1)
• Hot Wheels (Walgreens - buy one get one 1/2 off - $1.69)
• Cars mini-frisbees (Dollar Tree - $1)
• Pens (Walmart - .50 cents for each packet) 
• T-Shirt - Medium (Dollar Tree - $1)
• Cars swim trunks - Medium (Walmart - $4 - built in undies and sturdier than regular fabric)
• 2 prs of socks -  (Dollar Tree - $1)
• Kleenex (free sample that came in the mail)
• Lipbalm ($0 - was in a gift basket received and never used)
• Soap (.79 after coupon at Walgreens)
• Baby powder (.99 at Walmart)
• Toothbrush & toothpaste ($1 at Dollar Tree)

Collection week is this week through November 21st.

In addition to the above, I downloaded and completed the "About Me" at their Graphic Resources 
(but it is not required)

If you pay the $7 shipping online to be able to track what country the box ends up in; I chose this option and paid by credit card.   When I looked up drop off locations within 25 miles found 5, the closest one being within 5 miles of where I live.

Here are more detailed instructions from Samaratin's Purse website on preparing a shoebox for mailing.  I looked up drop off locations and there are


Use an empty shoe box (standard size, please) or a small plastic container. You can wrap the box (lid separately), but wrapping is not required. Most importantly, pray for the child who will receive your gift.


Determine whether your gift will be for a boy or a girl, and the child’s age category: 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14. Print out the appropriate boy/girl label by downloading the artwork to the right. Mark the correct age category on the label, and tape the label to the top of your box.


Fill the box with a variety of gifts that will bring delight to a child.  Use the gift ideas provided on the bottom of this page.


Please donate $7 or more for each shoe box you prepare to help cover shipping and other project costs. You can give online by using our “Follow Your Box Donation” option, or you can write a check to Samaritan’s Purse (note “OCC” on memo line) and place it in an envelope on top of the gift items inside your box. If you or your family are preparing more than one shoe box, please make one combined donation.


Place a rubber band around each closed shoe box and drop off at the Collection Center nearest you during our collection week, November 14-21.

For locations and hours of collection visit our Drop-Off Locations page where you can find the nearest place to take your shoe box by entering your ZIP Code or you can call 1-800-353-5949.

You can also send your shoe box gift to:
Samaritan’s Purse
Operation Christmas Child
801 Bamboo Road
Boone, NC 28607

For further details if interested, visit Samaratin's Purse website