With holiday supplies already covering the store shelves, Bogalusa individuals, families, churches and groups are working to make Christmas a reality for needy kids around the world by filling shoeboxes with toys, school supplies, hygiene items and notes of encouragement. Operation Christmas Child, the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind, is ramping up as Bogalusa residents prepare to collect 700 gift-filled shoeboxes during National Collection Week Nov. 18–25.

At the following local collection sites in the Bogalusa area, anyone can drop off a gift-filled shoebox to send to a child overseas. Then using whatever means necessary—trucks, trains, boats, bikes and even elephants—the shoebox gifts will be delivered to children worldwide. For many children, the shoebox gift will be the first gift they have ever received.

Bogalusa Collection Site:

Palestine Baptist Church

59369 Palestine Church Road

Bogalusa, LA 70427

1-800-567-8580

Operating Hours:

Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 18-19: 9 a.m. until noon

Wednesday, Nov. 20: Noon until 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 21: 9 a.m. until noon

Friday, Nov. 22: 3 p.m. until 6 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 23: 10 a.m. until 2 p.m

Sunday, Nov. 24: 1 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 25: 9 a.m. until 10 a.m.

Bush Collection Site:

Hebron Baptist Church

79614 Highway 41

Bush, LA 70431

1-800-567-8580

Operating Hours:

Monday through Friday, Nov. 18-22: 5:30 p.m. until 8 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 23: 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 24: 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 25: 5 p.m. until 8 p.m.

Though the shoebox gifts will often travel thousands of miles, Operation Christmas Child offers a way for participants to follow their box, by using the donation form found at samaritanspurse.org. Donors will receive an email telling the country where their shoeboxes are delivered.

Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 100 million shoebox gifts to suffering children in more than 100 countries since 1993. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Operation Christmas Child hopes to collect another 9.8 million gift-filled shoeboxes in 2013. Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham.

For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call 1-800-809-3882 or visit samaritanspurse.org. National Collection Week for gift-filled shoeboxes is Nov. 18-25; however, shoebox gifts are collected all year at the Samaritan’s Purse headquarters in Boone, N.C. Participants can also build a box through an online tool offering a personalized and convenient way to send a gift to a child in one of the hardest-to-reach countries.