SUMMERDALE, Ala. — A toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, a washcloth, comb and brush, socks, school supplies…things we can get easily at Walmart and have multiples of are the very items that bring a smile to the face of a boy or girl half a world away.

And in many cases, these boys and girls have never received gifts of their very own but thanks to the generosity of eight million people around the country who took time to pack a simple shoebox last year, they did.

Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse, that collects toys, hygiene and school supplies has been reaching out to underprivileged children in 130 countries since 1993 and has packed and delivered 77 million shoeboxes.

Next week, November 15-21. is the National Collection Week for the shoeboxes and many churches, schools and families will be gathering their boxes to deliver.

Bonnie Schell, OCC Coordinator for Central/South Baldwin County said Harvest Church in Summerdale, located on Hwy. 59 in the Summerdale Village Shopping Center, will be this year’s drop-off location. Collection times will be Monday-Sunday from 1-5 p.m.

“Last year we collected over 3,000 boxes from the community and we were so suprised we had that many. This is lots of fun for us and we get so excited when we see people come in with their boxes,” Schell said.

10 to 15 volunteers help with the collection process, Schell said, and they have been collecting for about 10 years.

For Northern Baldwin County, Southside Baptist Church, located at 526 Brady Road in Bay Minette, is the drop-off location and their collection hours are Monday-Monday from 12 -4 p.m.

Samaritan’s Purse, a nondenominational Christian organization founded by evangelist / journalist Bob Pierce in 1970 after visiting children in Korea, and taken over in 1980 by Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, has a heart for hurting people all over the world., according to the Samaritan’s Purse website.

Based out of Boone, North Carolina, their mission is to “provide spiritual and physical aid to people around the world. Samaritan's Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His son, Jesus Christ,” the website said.

Operation Christmas Child was started in 1993 as a way to “demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.”

The process is simple. Decide whether you want to help a boy or girl or both (ages 2-4, 5-9 or 10-14). Get a shoebox or a plastic storage container with a lid and fill it with small toys, school supplies, hygiene items, hard candy and lollipops, mints, gum t-shirts, socks, caps, sunglasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches and flashlights. You may also include a personal note or picture of yourself or your family.

Include a $7 donation for each box to cover the cost of shipping and other project costs. One check can be written to “Samaritan’s Purse”. if you are doing multiple boxes and placed in one of the boxes or there is an online payment option available at samaritanspurse.org., according to the website.

Some things not to put in the boxes, according to the website, include: used or damaged items, war-related items such as guns, knives or military figures, chocolate or food; liquids or lotions, medications or vitamins, breakable items such as snowglobes or glass containers and aerosol cans.

When your box is finished, secure it with a rubber band and take it to the drop-off location.

For a complete list of instructions and to download a “boy” or “girl” label, visit the website at

samaritanspurse.org/occ.