Sometime over the Christmas season, a child in a remote Third World village will open the first gift he or she has ever received. This is the laudable work of Operation Christmas Child (OCC), an initiative from Boone, North Carolina-based Samaritan’s Purse. It is not uncommon, say spokespersons for Operation Christmas Child, for children to scream with joy for five minutes upon opening up their Christmas shoebox. The goal, says the group, is to deliver joy and hope to children in desperate circumstances around the world through gift-filled shoeboxes and the message of God’s unconditional love.
Since its launch in 1993, Operation Christmas Child has gratefully accepted donations of shoeboxes filled to the brim with toys, school supplies and hygiene items, as well as personal notes and photos, ultimately delivering them to needy children around the world. OCC has delivered over 110 million shoeboxes since its beginning in 1993. For the 2015 season, it plans to deliver 11 million shoeboxes, an amazing logistical undertaking. Aside from the United States, shoebox gifts are also gathered in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Finland, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Japan. They are distributed to children in over 100 countries and every continent, except for Antarctica.
The entire process is a logistical marvel that involves both palletization and unique delivery methods. From animals to helicopters, the journey can be a difficult one.
When shoebox gift donations are dropped off at the local church or non-profit agency, this is just the beginning of the long journey overseas. Volunteers pack the shoeboxes inside of corrugated cartons, which hold in the range of 16 to 24 shoeboxes each. Sixteen cartons are stacked per pallet. Some of those pallets are donated, and some are purchased by the group, according to Emmanuel Fongeh, international logistics coordinator for Samaritans Purse Canada. An average full truckload holds around 480 cartons or 10,200 shoeboxes. Shoeboxes originating in the United States are transported to one of eight processing centers, located in Atlanta; Baltimore; Boone, N.C.; Charlotte; Dallas; Denver; Minneapolis; and Orange County, California. At these locations shoeboxes are prepared for international shipment.
The estimated 11 million shoeboxes shipped translates into over 34,000 pallet movements (based on U.S. and Canada palletization practices) and upwards of 1,100 highway trailers. Cartons are removed from pallets and floor loaded onto ocean containers for shipment abroad, with an average of 10,200 shoeboxes per container. Once overseas, the final distribution can take on a number of different forms.
“I’ve spent some time handing out shoeboxes in the most crazy places,” Frank King, communications manager, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada, recently told the Calgary Sun. “In some countries they’re being transported by river boat, in some countries they’re being transported by camel, in some countries they’re being taken in horse-drawn carriages.”
While the Christmas shoeboxes may arrive at their final destination by a variety of modes, the common thread is the joy experienced by their recipients. While it is probably too late to get involved this year, if you are looking for a new way to share in the Christmas spirit for the years ahead, Operation Christmas Child might be an initiative to consider.
For more information, visit http://www.samaritanspurse.org/occ.
