LET’s Celebrate 2023!! 11,330,126!!
Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham. Samaritan’s Purse currently works in more than 100 countries to provide aid to victims of war, disease, disaster, poverty and famine.
The Samaritan’s Purse project Operation Christmas Child collects shoebox gifts – filled with fun toys, school supplies and hygiene items—and delivers them to children in need around the world to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way. For many of these children, the gift-filled shoebox is the first gift they have ever received.
Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child, the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind, has collected and delivered more than 220 million shoebox gifts to children in more than 170 countries and territories. In 2023, Operation Christmas Child collected enough shoebox gifts to reach another 11+ million children. In 2023, Operation Christmas Child also celebrated its 30th year of ministry!
Anyone can pack a shoebox. Individuals, families, churches and groups fill empty shoeboxes with school supplies, hygiene items and fun toys, such as dolls or soccer balls. During National Collection Week (Nov. 13–20, 2023), Samaritan’s Purse collected gift-filled shoeboxes at more than 4,500 drop-off locations in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
Participants can donate $10 per shoebox gift online through Follow Your Box and receive a tracking label to discover its destination. Also for those participants who prefer the convenience of online shopping can browse samaritanspurse.org/buildonline to select gifts matched to a child’s specific age and gender, then finish packing the virtual shoebox by adding a photo and personal note of encouragement.
Shoebox gifts are prepared for overseas shipment at eight major processing centers across the U.S.—Atlanta; Baltimore/Washington; Boone, North Carolina; Charlotte, North Carolina; Dallas/Fort Worth; Denver; Chicago; and Fullerton, California.
Shoebox gifts are collected in Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States.
Over 540,000 volunteers worldwide—with more than 220,000 of those in the U.S.—are involved in collecting, shipping and distributing shoebox gifts.
Delivered into the hands of children through local churches, every shoebox gift is an opportunity to share about Jesus Christ and God’s love.
Since 2009, 35.4 million shoebox recipients have participated in our 12-lesson discipleship course, The Greatest Journey. More than 24.9 million children have graduated from this program with over 17.4 million boys and girls making decisions for Christ.
In 2023, Operation Christmas Child is celebrating 50 million children discipled.
Want to learn how to pack a shoebox? Go to samaritanspurse.org/occ.. You can also view gift suggestions, find the nearest drop-off location, and Follow Your Box.
To spread the word, tag Operation Christmas Child on any social media posts related to the project. You can also share your shoebox stories and photos by emailing them to occinfo@samaritan.org. Your content may be used on national social media pages. Be sure to like, comment, and share Operation Christmas Child posts.
Facebook @OperationChristmasChild
Twitter @occ_shoeboxes
Instagram @operationchristmaschild