THOMASVILLE—On Monday morning, Volunteers for Operation Christmas Child loaded 1,763 shoeboxes into their trailer en route to the Atlanta Distribution Center.

Drop-off coordinator for the Thomasville/Thomas County area, Teresa Little, said the number of shoeboxes donated was up from last year’s donation of approximately 1,700 boxes, thanks to the help of two new groups, which generously gave boxes to children overseas.

Since 1993, more than 100 million boys and girls in over 130 countries have experienced God’s love through the power of simple shoebox gifts from Operation Christmas Child.

“These shoeboxes will bring each child joy and they will learn more about the gospel,” Little said. “They will each get a book in there about the journey of Christmas in their language.”

While Little was thrilled to see an uptick in donations, she still has a goal of 2,000 boxes.

“Every year we are going to keep passing the word along,” she said. “We would love to see more and more people in Thomasville participate. I’d love to see Thomas County donate 2,000 boxes.”

Little has long been involved in the shoebox ministry with her church, Pineland Baptist. When her Pastor asked for volunteers to head up the collection site, Little and her husband, Joey, were happy to share their time.

“It’s been a blessing to be able to do this,” Joey said. “We hope others continue to support us in every way they can, so it can continue to grow in our area.”

Over the past week, Teresa, Joey, and three other members of Pineland Baptist Church have spent 86 hours accepting shoeboxes and prayerfully packing shoeboxes to be sent worldwide through their church.

Members of Pineland enjoy the shoebox ministry and often share letters with the children in hopes they may write back and become pen pals with some of the younger members of the church.

“They have someone who interprets and reads the letter to them and that’s how they learn,” Teresa said. “The child then writes back or has someone else help them write members back.”

Shoeboxes are not the only way to connect with children through Samaritan’s Purse. The organization has several ways to support children and families throughout the year. They offer a magazine with various giving opportunities, including the purchase of a goat to feed a family throughout the holidays.

“There is so much people can do to help,” Teresa said. “It doesn’t have to be right now, it lasts year-round.”

Additionally, Samaritan’s Purse helps during disaster recovery and provides similar materials from items in shoeboxes to children who have lost everything. However, these items stay in the United States, while traditional shoeboxes are sent overseas.

“It’s really just a great organization,” Teresa concluded.

While the local Shoebox operation center has closed, those still interested can mail shoeboxes to 801 Bamboo Rd., Boone, NC 28607 with attention to Operation Christmas Child.

The seven ways to give beyond a shoebox can be found at samaritanspurse.org.