Area residents continue to help those in need well beyond Flin Flon’s borders.
Operation Christmas Child, a program that sends gifts and necessities to poverty-stricken children in Third World countries, marks its 16th year in the local area this holiday season.
“I just think it’s a great program,” said chairperson Heather Lowe. “As much work as it is, it’s fun. It’s fun to see everyone’s response and how they feel about [Operation Christmas Child.]”
Through the program, shoeboxes are filled with items such as school supplies, toys, clothes, gum and toothbrushes for children across the world who would not otherwise receive a present on Christmas morning.
Lowe, a board member with the First Baptist Church, has chaired Operation Christmas Child in Flin Flon since it started locally in 1998.
On average, Lowe estimates there have been 230 boxes donated to the program each year, totalling nearly 3,700 boxes from the Flin Flon area.
“When you see it all together, that’s really good for our little community,” said Lowe.
Creighton Community School has been a major contributor to the program for the past 16 years.
“We don’t even have to contact them [to ask for support] anymore,” said Lowe, always pleased with the donation of 30 to 40 boxes from the students.
Classes in Flin Flon schools make donations as well.
Shipping
The deadline for Operation Christmas Child boxes was this past weekend, with the boxes scheduled for shipping on Sunday.
All boxes collected for Operation Christmas Child from across Canada are bused to Calgary, where they are sorted to ensure only proper items are in the gift boxes.
“Anything the airlines won’t allow, we can’t put in it,” said Lowe.
Times have changed since Operation Christmas Child’s original guidelines simply stated there could be no war-themed toys.
Now, Lowe says, boxes cannot contain shampoos, toothpaste or other liquid toiletries.
Hard candy is accepted, but no gum or soft candy that could contain dangerous goods. Boxes are often filled with socks, T-shirts, toys and toothbrushes.
Operation Christmas Child boxes are created and donated by people of all ages, but it seems to be the children who most enjoy stocking the shoeboxes.
“When little kids have brought in the kits, some of them want to show what they have donated,” said Lowe.
Though the boxes are not supposed to be opened prior to leaving Flin Flon, Lowe says that with parental permission, that rule is sometimes overlooked.
“We get to be excited with them and see their smiles,” she said.
Enthusiasm
Though Lowe has at times thought of passing the torch onto someone else, the community’s enthusiasm for the program has kept her involved year after year.
“I’m proud of the community,” she said. “That spurs me to keep going. Every year I think, ‘Someone else can do it,’ but when people on the street carry on and they know about the program, I know it’s a good thing I’m doing.”
In addition to gathering donations for Operation Christmas Child, Lowe feels it is important for Flin Flin area organizations to receive support at this time of the year.
“I strongly believe in local support,” she said. “I encourage people to also do something for the Salvation Army or the Lord’s Bounty Food Bank, which are trying to help the local people right here. I think that’s important, too.”
Operation Christmas Child has run worldwide through Samaritan’s Purse Foundation since 1990.
