ESTEVAN - The Estevan area was once again very generous with its support for the Operation Christmas Child campaign this year.
A total of 461 shoeboxes were collected. While the number of donations was lower than in previous years, the numbers were still positive for Jillian Ursu, who is the drop-off team lead for the Estevan area.
Businesses, organizations, churches, families and individuals all filled boxes this year.
Sunday was the deadline to drop off a shoebox at the Estevan Alliance Church. Members of the Estevan Bruins helped pack the boxes into a truck, which then took all of the shoeboxes to the central drop-off location in Regina. From there, the boxes then go to the processing centre in Calgary.
They will be delivered to children in locations around the world. For many of the children, it’s the first Christmas gift they will ever receive.
“A lot of kids will be super excited to receive their shoeboxes,” she said.
Ursu noted there has been a shift to online shoebox packing in recent years, and more people are opting to make a cash donation to the campaign rather than fill a shoebox. Ursu said they won’t find out online donation numbers for the Estevan area until later.
Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse International.
