Local Residents Packing Joy For Needy Children

SARATOGA SPRINGS — With holiday supplies already covering the store shelves, Saratoga Springs individuals, families, churches and groups are working to make Christmas a reality for needy kids around the world by filling shoeboxes with toys, school supplies, hygiene items and notes of encouragement. Operation Christmas Child, the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind, is ramping up as Saratoga Springs residents prepare to collect 800 gift-filled shoeboxes during National Collection Week from Nov. 18 to 25. At this local collection site in the Saratoga Springs area, anyone can drop off a gift-filled shoebox to send to a child overseas. Then using whatever means necessary – trucks, trains, boats, bikes and even elephants – the shoebox gifts will be delivered to children worldwide. For many children, the shoebox gift will be the first gift they have ever received. Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 100 million shoebox gifts to suffering children in more than 100 countries since 1993. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Operation Christmas Child hopes to collect another 9.8 million gift-filled shoeboxes in 2013. Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham. For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call (518) 437-0690 or visit samaritanspurse.org. National Collection Week for gift-filled shoeboxes is Nov. 18-25. However, shoebox gifts are collected all year at the Samaritan’s Purse headquarters in Boone, N.C. Participants can also build a box through an online tool offering a personalized and convenient way to send a gift to a child in one of the hardest-to-reach countries. SARATOGA SPRINGS COLLECTION SITE: New Life Fellowship 51 Old Gick Road Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 Operating Hours: Mon. Nov. 18 - Fri. Nov. 22: 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. Sat. Nov. 23: 12 p.m. - 2 p.m. Sun. Nov. 24: 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. Mon. Nov. 25: 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. NEARBY COLLECTION SITE: Calvary’s Family Life Center 100 Sherman Avenue Glens Falls, NY 12801 Operating Hours: Mon. Nov. 18 - Fri. Nov. 22: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Sat. Nov. 23: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sun. Nov. 24: 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. Mon. Nov. 25: 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. For more information regarding these collection locations, call 1-800-567-8580.