Churches make global impact through Christmas Child

In November, six sites in the tri-county area will be among 5,000 U.S. dropoff locations collecting shoebox gifts for children overseas during Operation Christmas Child’s National Collection Week, Nov. 12-19, according to a news release.

Families, churches and groups from Southern Maryland are busy transforming empty shoeboxes into fun gifts filled with toys, school supplies and hygiene items. 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, according to the release. For many of these children, it will be the first gift they have ever received.

This year, Southern Maryland residents hope to collect more than 20,500 gifts to contribute to the 2018 global goal of reaching 11 million children.

“We are honored to be linking arms with our community to help children around the world experience the true meaning of Christmas,” said area coordinator Sheryl Hartsfield, who has participated in Operation Christmas Child for 10 years. “These simple gifts show God’s love to children facing difficult circumstances.”

The Charles County drop-off locations are:

• First Baptist Church of Waldorf, 10045 Bunker Hill Road, Waldorf.

• First Baptist Church, 9070 Hawthorne Road, La Plata.

• Hughesville Baptist Church, 8505 Old Leonardtown Road, Hughesville.

For more information and drop-off times at these locations — they differ each day — go to https:// sampur.se/ 2OHvlKe.

State offer vests to protect Halloween treat seekers

All superheroes, princesses, ghosts and goblins deserve to be seen this Halloween. The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) will lend reflective vests to children and their chaperones as part of the annual “Vests for Visibility” program, according to a news release.

Designed to be worn over clothing, the reflective vests help increase the visibility of pedestrians. Every day, and especially on Halloween which brings increased nighttime pedestrian activity, everyone needs to follow the rules of the road and be seen.

Parents can pick up vests between Monday, Oct. 29, through Wednesday, Oct. 31, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The reflective vests will be issued on a firstcome, first-served basis and need to be returned by Friday, Nov. 2.

“The Vests for Visibility program is another way that we are stressing how critical it is to have a conversation about pedestrian safety with the walkers and drivers in your family,” MDOT SHA administrator Gregory Slater said in the release. “With the upcoming time change and dusk arriving earlier in the day, we want to make sure that drivers and pedestrians are looking out for each other, so everyone stays safe.”

To borrow a vest in Charles County, go to the La Plata shop on Washington Avenue in La Plata. For more information, call 301934-8031.

Throughout the year, MDOT SHA promotes it’s Look Up, Look Out campaign which is an education initiative that reminds travelers that pedestrian safety is a two-way street. The effort includes public service announcements, billboards, community outreach and social media efforts. To keep the message in front of our youngest pedestrians, members of the Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens football organizations will be visiting elementary schools throughout Maryland for Walk Smart assemblies. Drivers: • Maryland law requires motorists to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks and intersections.

• Park the mobile phone.

• Obey the speed limit.

• Motorists should be more cautious during peak trick-or-treating hours, 4 to 9 p.m.

• Enter and exit driveways slowly. Use caution when turning at intersections.

• Be alert for children darting across the street and crossing between parked cars.

• When driving children to and from different activities, make sure all seat belts are fastened and let children out of the car on the curbside.

• Designate a sober driver. Pedestrians:

• Look left, right, and left again before crossing the street.

• Cross at crosswalks or intersections.

• Avoid dark clothing; wear bright colors and use reflective vests and blinking lights.

• Avoid costumes that may impair vision.

• Make eye contact with drivers when crossing the street.

• Be on the lookout for cars traveling above the speed limit.