ESTEVAN — Community spirit and generosity were on full display as Operation Christmas Child concluded its National Collection Week in Estevan, with 501 shoeboxes packed and ready to bring hope to children worldwide.
The total increased significantly from last year's final of about 400 shoeboxes, but is still far from the local record of over 1,450 boxes packed years ago.
Jillian Ursu, the drop-off team lead for Estevan, reflected on the campaign's success, emphasizing the impact of both familiar faces and new contributors.
"It's nice to see the numbers increasing and people participating and being excited about it," Ursu said. "Macoun church packed 109 boxes. Estevan Alliance Church contributed 105. And we had smaller communities, like Frobisher, Frobisher church packed 61 boxes. For such a small area, that's amazing."
Operation Christmas Child, an initiative of Samaritan's Purse International, delivers gift-filled shoeboxes to children in over 100 countries around Christmas time. Canadian shoeboxes this year are headed to El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, The Philippines, Ukraine and for the first time, Cape Verde. The shoeboxes are distributed to children in need unconditionally, regardless of race, religion or gender.
The collection week at the Estevan Alliance Church ran from Nov. 18 to 24, with donations trickling in daily and larger shipments arriving from groups and churches. Ursu noted the effort of volunteers and contributors to ensure boxes were well-packed with suitable items.
"People have a really good grasp of what things to include and what to avoid," she said. "There are also people making their donations online, which helps cover the shipping cost, now $12 per box."
Some donors choose to use the online Pack a Shoebox tool, enabling them to customize boxes from the comfort of their homes.
"This option is great for those who can't get out," Ursu explained. "It also allows people to select items within their budget."
She noted that the online contributions that came from this area are not included in the current total, as the information about them won't be available to local volunteers until later in the year.
Local students also contributed, gaining volunteer hours while assisting with receiving shoeboxes. Several Estevan Bruins came over on Sunday to help load boxes onto the truck.
"It's been wonderful seeing the younger generation involved," Ursu said. "We have the Estevan Bruins help load the truck, and they managed to do it in under three minutes one year."
Transportation logistics relied on community generosity as well and won't be affected by the current Canada Post strike. A company from Regina donates transportation every year, Ursu said. They pick up the boxes in Estevan and Weyburn, then deliver them to the central drop-off in Regina, where they're loaded onto a Samaritan's Purse truck for processing. The boxes will be shipped globally after processing at centres in Calgary and Ontario.
For more information on Operation Christmas Child or to get involved in future campaigns, visit samaritanspurse.ca.
