Area drop-off sites for Operation Christmas Child gift boxes include New Albin and Decorah

This week is National Collection Week

More than 4,500 locations will open to collect Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts for the Samaritan’s Purse project. Volunteers are preparing to collect shoebox gifts during National Collection Week, which is scheduled for this week, November 14-21.

Operation Christmas Child has been collecting and delivering shoebox gifts - filled with school supplies, hygiene items and fun toys - to children worldwide since 1993. Everyone is invited to pack a shoebox to contribute. Individuals, families and groups still have time to transform empty shoeboxes into gifts. The project partners with local churches across the globe to deliver these tangible expressions of God’s love to children in need. Find a step-by-step guide on the How to Pack a Shoebox webpage at https://samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/.

Participants can find the nearest drop-off location and hours of operation as they make plans to drop off their shoebox gifts. The online look-up tool is searchable by city or ZIP code. Signs at each location will identify the drop-off.

The most local drop-off locations for the Operation Christmas Child program include Christ Community Evangelical Free Church, located at 188 Plum Street NE in New Albin, and Stone Ridge Community Church, located at 1111 Montgomery Street in Decorah. Additional drop-off locations and open hours of acceptance during that November 14-21 National Collection Week can be found online at the drop-off locator page at the following website: https://samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/.