A YUM Publication
No. 7 Vol. 11
NOVEMBER 2025
Operation Christmas Child By Elsie Walker t is all about that one child. That child may be in an orphanage or other bleak situation somewhere in the world, has little, and has never felt what it is to be loved. They don’t know that Christmas is the story of the birth of Jesus or who Jesus even is. But with the arrival of a shoebox of items and the sharing of the gospel stories, that changes. That is how Kimberly Blewitt of Succasunna sees Operation Christmas Child. Blewitt is a church relations member at Ledgewood Baptist Church, a part of the northwestern New Jersey area for Operation Christmas Child. Through Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse International, love is spread to children around the world. A child’s life can be changed through items put in a shoebox, the love given in packing it, and learning the story of Jesus. The collection week for boxes is Nov. 17–24th. There are various drop-off locations. Blewitt has been involved in Operation Christmas Child for 26 years and recently shared about the project. It all starts with a regular size shoebox. Boxes are given to boys and girls ages 2 - 14. A box is made up of items by the gender and age. Blewitt noted that the box should include one item that, if you were a kid, you’d say “wow” when you saw it. That could be a stuffed animal, a toy car, a doll, etc. Other items could be clothing, school supplies,
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or hygiene items. It may be thought that hygiene items like a toothbrush or washcloth aren’t much of a gift to give, but for a child who has to share a toothbrush or washcloth with 10 other people, to have their own is a wonderful thing. There are certain things that can’t be put into a box such as items with expiration dates, perishable items, breakables, soap, and others listed on the Operation Christmas Child webpages of Samaritan’s Purse’s site. Blewitt noted that people might consider putting a letter or photo in the box, too. She shared another thing to do is pray for the child getting the box. Also, to help the boxes reach their destination, Samaritan’s Purse asks for a $10 donation towards postage for each box. Blewett shared that last year, the Ledgewood dropoff site got 4,025 boxes. Throughout Northwest New Jersey (Morris and Sussex counties), 13,722 boxes were collected. More are
always needed. The boxes go to over 140 countries. Some might wonder what to get since the person sending the box doesn’t know where it is going. Blewitt noted that “God knows what the child needs.” She shared about a child in Africa getting heavy mittens. People would not think the child would have use for those in his climate. However, the child’s mother supported the family by making pottery and the child’s job was to take the pieces from the fire pit. The mittens provided the protection the child’s hands needed. The boxes have a long journey. They start at dropoff centers; locally, there are ones in Mt. Arlington, Ledgewood, Livingston, Oak Ridge, Parsippany, Basking Ridge, Chatham, Wayne and Washington. From there, they are put into cartons and taken to collection centers. The collection centers load the cartons onto tractor trailers. From there, the boxes go to
processing centers. There the boxes are checked to make sure the boxes have no items that would hurt a child or are on the list of things not to be included. After this, they are put in shipping containers and sent on to the different countries. Once there, local area teams prepare local churches to get the boxes to the children. Local travel, in some cases, could even be by elephant, donkey, etc. Once at a destination, the children hear the gospel story of Jesus and receive the boxes. A copy of the gospel stories in the child’s native language is given with each box. Children are invited to come back if they want to learn more about Jesus, but that is not required to get a box. Boxes go on a long journey and don’t get to the children for Christmas the year they are given. Some are given out the next Christmas or some children experience Christmas in July. The gifts still mean the world to the children. “We hear a lot
from these kids who have received these boxes and are now adults telling their story that they felt loved with this box,” said Blewitt. She shared that the children learn they are a gift to God. Blewitt shared that she gets ”goosbumps’ upon hearing stories which reflect the miracle of the boxes. In one instance, although all the boxes are checked, a
boy got a doll in his. However, he was so happy. His sister had been unable to come to get a box and now he had something to give her. Another child opened his box to find a couple of pencils among the items. He was thrilled because now he could go to school. In some countries, if you don’t have the supplies, you can’t attend school. A young man, who had received a box as a child, shared that in his box was a scarf, but he lived in a warm climate. However, he kept the scarf. It ended up that when he grew up, he came to the United States: to Buffalo, New York. He still had the scarf, and it came in handy. For more information on Operation Christmas Child, filling a box, and the local drop-off locations, visit its webpage at https://www. samaritanspurse.org/whatwe-do/operation-christmas-child/