New Covenant is drop-off site for Operation Christmas Child
On Nov. 15, the first collection day for Operation Christmas Child at New Covenant Presbyterian Church in Lewes, volunteers were nearly overwhelmed with 600 donated shoeboxes.
This is the seventh year for the church to be a drop-off location for the Samaritan’s Purse project, which distributes more than 9 million shoeboxes filled with gifts and hygiene items to children ages 2 to 14 in more than 180 countries.
New Covenant volunteers will continue collecting shoeboxes through Monday, Nov. 22, when they will load boxes for transportation to the Salisbury, Md., regional collection center.
Project leader Renee Weer said there are several options to make a donation. Many area churches have distributed shoeboxes to their members so people can pack their own, or they can go online to select items for a shoebox, which are packed by Samaritan’s Purse staff and volunteers. A $9 donation per shoebox is suggested to cover shipping costs. In addition, New Covenant volunteers pack shoeboxes consisting of many donated items, including handmade dolls and hats. “We finished our Pack the Bus project and now we are trying to Pack the Truck,” Weer said. “We are hoping the truck is big enough.”
Volunteers pray over each shoebox before it is packed away.
In 2019, the church collected and packed 1,794 shoeboxes, and even during the COVID-19 pandemic, they collected 903 shoeboxes. Weer said they are on track to surpass the 2019 total this year.
Since 1993, more than 188 million children have received shoeboxes. Churches around the world hand out shoeboxes at festive outreach events that include distribution of Gospel booklets called The Greatest Gift to help recipients learn about Jesus Christ.
For more information, contact Weer at 302-542-5499. The website is samaritanspurse.org.
What’s in the boxes: Crafts, dolls, socks, small toys, stuffed animals, hygiene items, small musical instruments and school supplies. There are restrictions on what can be placed in a box. More information is available on the website.
Remaining drop-off times and dates at New Covenant Church, 3072 Savannah East Dr., off Kings Highway near the Dartmouth Drive intersection are Thursday, Nov. 18, 3:30-5:30 p.m.; Friday, Nov. 19, 2-4 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 20, 10 a.m. to noon; Sunday, Nov. 21, 1 to 3 p.m.; and Monday, Nov. 22, 9-11 a.m.
