Paniz Khosroshahy
Mount Baker is holding an Operation Christmas Child event this November. A group of seven leadership students has been organizing this project at the school.
“We’ve received great responses from our school in the past,” said Melissa Von Witgenstein, one of the organizers of the event. “Imagining the joy of a child as she or he opens the box motivates me to do this project for the third year now.”
Operation Christmas Child is run by the Christian organization Samaritan’s Purse. Each shoebox is filled with hygiene items, school supplies, toys and candies, along with a personal note and photo from the giver. A donation of $7 is suggested to cover the shipping fees.
These shoeboxes are destined for South American and African countries as Christmas gifts for children.
A total of 75 shoeboxes have been distributed among all block three classes. Every class can ask for more boxes and everyone is welcome to fill a box individually. The deadline for packing the shoeboxes is November 19.
The class with the highest number of filled shoeboxes receives a free lunch.
“We’re all too absorbed by the commercial aspect of Christmas,” said Christie Johnson, an English teacher at the high school whose class has won this reward for a few years. “This is a great opportunity for all of us to try to give so little that would mean so much.”
After collecting all the boxes, volunteers will go over each shoebox to make sure its content is appropriate.
“We’ve had a gun toy and playing cards in boxes before,” said Derissa Leung. “These items are forbidden as they might carry violence- and gambling-promoting messages.”
The Operation Christmas Child boxes can also be picked up from McDonald’s and local churches.
