At Grove Park Baptist Church, volunteers arrange shoe boxes filled with gifts.
                                 Courtesy Photo

At Grove Park Baptist Church, volunteers arrange shoe boxes filled with gifts.

Courtesy Photo

<p>Operation Christmas Child continues in Sampson County with the help of members from Grove Park Baptist Church and the community.</p>
                                 <p>Courtesy Photo</p>

Operation Christmas Child continues in Sampson County with the help of members from Grove Park Baptist Church and the community.

Courtesy Photo

<p>A volunteer uses a forklift to deliver boxes to a truck.</p>
                                 <p>Courtesy Photo</p>

A volunteer uses a forklift to deliver boxes to a truck.

Courtesy Photo

<p>Boxes of gifts being shipped overseas are arranged on a truck.</p>
                                 <p>Courtesy Photo</p>

Boxes of gifts being shipped overseas are arranged on a truck.

Courtesy Photo

<p>A group of volunteers show shoe boxes before deliveries are made to provide Christmas gifts to children overseas.</p>
                                 <p>Courtesy Photo</p>

A group of volunteers show shoe boxes before deliveries are made to provide Christmas gifts to children overseas.

Courtesy Photo

At Grove Park Baptist Church, volunteers sealed boxes filled with gifts with a hope to bring joy to children overseas.

Thanks to the generosity of Sampson County for the Operation Christmas Child program, more than 3,000 kids living in poverty are going to smile when they open shoeboxes containing toys, schools supplies and hygiene items. The project was created by the Samaritan’s Purse, a national humanitarian Christian-based organization. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 178 million boxes in more than 160 countries.

“The trend with 2020 and the coronavirus is that people are having a hard time right now,” said Area Coordinator Nicole Wilson. “The fact that we were able to still collect as many shoeboxes is amazing. It just shows the heart of the community and how much they still want to give, even when it’s hard.”

Wilson said she was really grateful for the support and for the giving over the years, even during challenges such Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, organizers stressed that the need is greater now more than ever.

During the national collection week, held Nov. 16 through Nov. 23, Grove Park Baptist Church served as one of 4,000 locations for the Samaritan’s Purse. A total of 3,058 shoeboxes were collected locally in Sampson County. Sherri Collins, publicity chair for the Fayetteville Region, was also pleased with the turnout, although it was a little less than the 2019 total of 3,876. A total of 23,773 were collected in the Eastern Sandhills Region of the state. Collins believes the total is higher because of an option which allowed the public to make a donation online through its “Build a Box” program.

“We may even have a bigger impact from the area than we know,” Collins said.

Last year, the nationwide organization sent around 11 million boxes in 2019.

“It’s still a needed ministry and it’s still a worthwhile ministry and it’s still something that’s making an internal impact,” Nelson said.

According to officials from Operation Christmas Child, the mission is “to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world, and, together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.” The history goes back to 1993 when Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham received a call with a request to send shoeboxes with gifts for children in Bosnia. He was assisted by Calvary Church of Charlotte and pastor Ross Rhoads, who encouraged his congregation to include a letter.

“In the midst of the pandemic, the needs are greater than ever before,” Graham said in a news release. “Children around the world need to know that God loves them and there is hope. A simple shoebox gift opens the door to share about the true hope that can only be found in Jesus Christ.”

Reach Chase Jordan at 910-249-4617. Follow us on Twitter at @SampsonInd and like us on Facebook.