Operation Christmas Child begins; drop off dates, times announced

A number of Polk County churches, individuals and groups annually participate in Operation Christmas Child.

Local participants are part of the Georgia Highlands team, which covers Polk, Paulding, Bartow, and Floyd counties.

These individuals work throughout the year to plan and provide funds for individual and group participation in support of the international effort of Samaritans Purse.

Live Oak Baptist Church continues to plan for this event. This year, about 40 people and have packed more than 820 boxes. Volunteers from other churches also bring many boxes for this holiday project.

Gina Brown, area coordinator, has announced that Nov. 16 – 23 is National Collection Week.

Polk County’s drop off location is Bellview Baptist Church, located at 2333 N. Bellview Rd, Rockmart.

Hours you can drop off your shoeboxes are:

Monday, Nov. 16: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Tuesday, Nov. 17: 5 to 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 18: 10 a.m. to noon

Thursday, Nov. 19: 5 to 7 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 20: 10 a.m. to noon

Saturday, Nov. 21: 10 a.m. to noon

Sunday, Nov. 22: 3 to 5 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 23: 8 to 10 a.m.

Since 1993, the project has collected and delivered more than 100 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 100 countries.

In 2015, Operation Christmas Child hopes to collect enough shoebox gifts to reach another 11 million children.

Shoebox gifts are collected in the U.S., Australia, Finland, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Spain, and the U.K.

More than 500,000 volunteers worldwide, with more than 100,000 of those in the United States, are involved in collecting, shipping, and distributing shoebox gifts.