GAINESVILLE - Gainesville's Lakewood Baptist Church has set a new goal for sending Christmas shoe boxes to children around the world this season for 'Operation Christmas Child'.
Senior Minister Dr. Tom Smiley said the goal is over 20,000 this year surpassing the 17,000 sent last year filled with school supplies, toys and other gifts; the Gainesville church is a regional collection center in support of Franklin Graham's international ministry called 'Samaritan's Purse'.
"These boxes will end up in children's lives all over the world and this will be the only thing many of them will receive," Dr. Smiley said.
Lakewood hopes to collect the shoe boxes by next Monday according to coordinator Jim Lee, who says as the boxes arrive, they are packed in crates for shipment overseas.
"We will be collecting boxes here at Lakewood and at our regional outposts through Monday, Monday is the deadline to get these boxes in," Lee said.
Heather Risinger has been organizing volunteers and says the response has been overwhelming this year.
"There's been a huge outpouring of calls and emails asking how I can be used," Risinger said. "We just need people here just to be ready and willing to wait for people to bring in boxes."
Friday
October 18th, 2024
6:24AM
