Two churches in the Hot Springs area will serve as local collection sites for the international effort Operation Christmas Child beginning Monday, providing toys, school supplies and hygiene items to children in need overseas.
Grand Avenue United Methodist Church, 841 Quapaw Ave., and Walnut Valley Baptist Church, 1698 Highway 7 north, will be among 5,000 drop-off locations in the United States collecting shoe box gifts for "boys and girls around the world," during the national collection week which runs through Nov. 25, a release said.
"Hot Springs families, churches and groups are busy transforming empty shoe boxes into fun gifts filled with toys, school supplies and hygiene items," the release said. "The Samaritan's Purse project partners with local churches across the globe to deliver these tangible expressions of God's love to children affected by war, disease, disaster, poverty and famine. For many of these children, it will be the first gift they have ever received," it said.
This year, Hot Springs area residents hope to collect more than 4,000 gifts to contribute to the 2019 global goal of reaching 11 million children. The ministry is nondenominational and "open to all who wish to bless needy children with a tangible expression of God's love," the release said.
For information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call 615-962-7145, or visit http://www.samaritanspurse.org/occ. Participants can donate $9 per shoe box gift online through "Follow Your Box" and receive a tracking label to discover its destination, or can browse samaritanspurse.org/buildonline to select gifts matched to a child's specific age and gender, then finish packing the virtual shoe box by adding a photo and personal note of encouragement, the release said.
The collection hours at Grand Avenue are 1-4 p.m. Monday, 1:30-4:30 p.m. Tuesday, 1-4 p.m. Wednesday, 9 a.m. to noon Thursday and Friday, noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, 1-4 p.m. on Nov. 24 and 9 a.m. to noon on Nov. 25.
The collection hours at Walnut Valley are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 2-5 p.m. Wednesday, 2-6 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, 1-3 p.m. on Nov. 24, and 8-11 a.m. Nov. 25.
Local on 11/17/2019