ROBERTSDALE, Ala. — If you weren’t one of the 3,668 South or Central Baldwin County resident s who packed a shoe box last month for Operation Christmas Child, it’s not too late to put a smile on the face of a child half a world away.

Samaritan’s Purse, the relief agency started by Franklin Graham and based out of Boone, North Carolina, has come up with a way to spread cheer all year long by creating “Build-A-Box” and “Send-A-Box” on their website.

According to a press release, for the first time ever, a box can be customized and personalized by going online and choosing from different options. “The donor selects a child’s age and gender, shops through a selection of toys, necessity items and school supplies and finishes it off with a personalized note of encouragement. The gift boxes will be assembled by volunteers at Operation Christmas Child processing center in Charlotte, N.C.”

It costs $35 to build a box but there is also the option of “sending” a box where you can pay $35 for one to be put together by OCC volunteers and the donor uploads a photo and writes a personal note to the child. A box can also be tracked and the donor can see where it will be delivered as well.

Inside each box are basic essentials: soap, washcloth, toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, pencils, crayons, pencil sharpener, coloring pad, notebook, pens, colored pencils, push pencils and candy, the website said. The donor can then choose from two toys and two misc. items. The age ranges are 2-4, 5-9 and 10-14 and the toys and misc. items are age-specific.

“In just minutes, you can highly customize your gifts to bring hope to a child in a desperate situation. This process is unlike anything we’ve ever done, and it will allow even more children to receive gift-filled shoe boxes. We want each of these children to know the true meaning of Christmas,” said Jim Harrelson, vice president of Operation Christmas Child.

The local drop-off location for South and Central Baldwin was Harvest Church in Summerdale and Bonnie Schell, OCC volunteer said they had a great turnout this year.

“We had one church bring 591 boxes to begin with and then they brought some more to make it 599. Well, we couldn’t let it be just that much so we put another together to make it 600. That was a great thing for us,” Schell said.

Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has delivered more than 77 million shoe boxes to children in more than 130 countries.

To build or send a box, visit occbuildabox.org. To find out more about OCC or Samaritan’s Purse, visit samaritanspurse.org/occ.