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Religion

Smiles, one shoebox at a time

Local groups fill shoeboxes with gifts and necessities to bring joy to needy children around the world.

By TIFFANI SHERMAN
Published October 22, 2005

LARGO - If you want, use it as an excuse to buy a new pair of shoes. Because in this case, it's not the shoes that are valuable. It's the box they came in.

"Last year, we collected 34,000," said Melody Jones, 45, of St. Petersburg, the ministry coordinator of Family Ministries in Largo.

The shoeboxes she collected started out empty, but ended up serving a far more useful purpose. They were filled with toys and personal necessities as part of Operation Christmas Child, a ministry run by evangelist Franklin Graham's international relief organization Samaritan's Purse.

Last year, seven semitrailer truckloads of shoeboxes left the Tampa Bay area, heading for other countries. "It is a tool of evangelism," Jones said. "Because the children have absolutely nothing, it fills a need."

This year, Jones wants to collect even more shoeboxes.

"Nobody knows where that box is ending up," said Mary K. Evers, 47, of Palm Harbor. She and her husband, Ron, are in charge of the shoebox project at their church, Palm Harbor United Methodist on Belcher Road. This year, the boxes will go to one of about 90 countries, all of them areas that did not receive boxes last year. "They never go to the same town," Evers said.

The boxes contain things like soap, hard candy, small toys, toothpaste, toothbrushes and school supplies, but not medicine, chocolate or war toys. "Anything that you want to put in there that is not a liquid and is not perishable," Evers said.

The boxes are gender- and age-appropriate, and often include photos or letters from those who packed them.

"It becomes a very personal gift from donor to the child," Jones said. "These children know that somebody took time to put them together."

In addition to the toys and other items in the box, a biblical booklet is packed as well, with different versions for different parts of the world.

"The characters (in the booklet) look like them and it's written in their language," Evers said. "There are just too many children all around the world who have never gotten a gift or heard the story of Jesus Christ."

With headquarters in Boone, N.C., Samaritan's Purse distributed a total of 7.4-million boxes last year. Two years ago, Jones helped the group distribute boxes in Honduras.

"I thought I knew what missions were all about," she said. But that changed when she saw the children's faces when they opened their gifts. "The little inexpensive things, to them it was a priceless gift they just treasured."

One little girl took the plastic off her new Barbie doll, played with it for a while, then combed the doll's hair, put the plastic back on her head, and put it back in the box so it would stay clean. "A yo-yo or a small stuffed toy becomes special to them," Jones said.

It's also a special experience for the kids who make the boxes. Rebecca Staubs' son David is in the gifted program at Garrison Jones Elementary in Dunedin. He is making Operation Christmas Child his community service project and has gotten other children involved.

"I think (the kids) feel really good about what they're doing," Staubs said. "They feel like they're giving something to these children."

Staubs said her son sent letters to family and friends asking for donations and has so far collected $270 to buy items for his shoeboxes.

"(David) can't wait to go shopping with the money," she said. Each box costs about $5 to ship, so each completed box must contain at least a $5 bill or a check made out to Samaritan's Purse, Jones said.

At least 300 Tampa Bay area churches are participating in the project this year. After each church holds its collection, all of the boxes will go to a central collection point in Largo during the week of Nov. 14-21. From there the boxes go to Atlanta, then to other countries. There also are other local drop-off places, including Shurgard Self Storage locations.

"We try to set up a drop-off location where people don't have to drive more than 15 minutes," Jones said. The organization's Web site, www.samaritanspurse.org has a place to find the nearest drop-off location by ZIP code.

The annual effort is open to anyone who may have a stray shoebox waiting for more than just shoes.

"It's an absolutely incredible experience," Jones said. "(The recipients) know that somebody in another country took the time to make something special for them. You're able to bring a little bit of happiness into their lives for a while."

For more information on Operation Christmas Child's shoebox ministry, call Samaritan's Purse toll-free at 1-800-353-5949 or visit the Web site at www.samaritanspurse.com

[Last modified October 22, 2005, 01:13:18]