Samaritan's Purse

With Christmas fast approaching, I thought I would take this time to introduce you to an awesome chance to teach your children what it means to give.

Samaritan's Purse (a.k.a. Operation Christmas Child) is a chance for your children to reach out to other children, all across this world. Samaritan's Purse gives us a chance to give to those less fortunate than ourselves; and in doing so, teach our children the real meaning of Christmas.

Through Samaritan's Purse, your children will learn to give for the pure sake of giving. They won't see the child on the other end open the gifts given them. Your children will have to give not knowing the joy or satisfaction of seeing the gift opened by the recipient. Your children will have to trust that they are making a difference in the lives of others. And in doing so, they will begin to learn the importance of supporting causes they believe in, even when they don't see the immediate results.

So how does it all work? Your family, or group of people, contact Samaritan's Purse to let them know that you are interested in helping. They will send you mini-brochures that will walk you through the entire process. On these mini-brochures will be labels that you will place on your care packages as well as an envelope for the $5 needed to mail each care package.

So here is how it works:

1. Receive the mini-brochures and read their guidelines.

2. Find some empty shoe boxes with lids. (I usually head on over to Payless Shoe Store as they are always gracious enough to give me a few boxes.) Then have your children paint, color, or wrap the outside of the boxes with festive colors. Children can also place stickers and bows on the boxes.

3. Decide on the gender and age group of the child you want to purchase items for. Cut out the label on the mini-brochure and place it somewhere on the box.

4. Grab your kids and head on over to your local 99¢ Store. Don't forget to bring your shoeboxes so that you can make sure that the items you choose will fit inside. Load up with the following types of goodies:

Toys: If you choose toys that need batteries, please provide several extra batteries. Also, no war related toys are allowed.

School Supplies: For obvious reasons, solar calculators are better than battery operated ones.

Personal Hygiene Items: Do not purchase liquids, but you can purchase toothpaste.

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