Stacks of heavy shoe boxes wrapped in festive Christmas paper are becoming a common sight in church halls around Fayette County.

At least six congregations are participating in this year's Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan's Purse, the international Christian relief organization headed by Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham.

“Everybody loves to give,” said Wilma McCann of New Hope Baptist Church. “It's been wonderful to see how the project has grown,” she added. Last year, more than 1.3 million shoe boxes filled with small toys, articles of clothing and toiletries were collected across the United States and distributed to children around the world affected by poverty, war and natural disasters. Projections for this year's effort will be 3 million shoe boxes collected from volunteers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, delivered to children in 55 countries, including about 400,000 children affected by the war in Kosovo.

Churches such as New Hope Baptist and Prince of Peace Lutheran, both in Fayetteville, solicit boxes from their entire congregations, while others like Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Peachtree City involve the children in the religious education classes. Last year, the children filled more than 700 boxes with everything from Barbie dolls to bandages.

“A lot of times, it's the only gift they'll get in their lifetime,” McCann noted, after seeing pictures of some of the recipients who even saved the wrapping paper from their boxes. “It's a real treasure,” she added.

Doris Hughes of Prince of Peace said the call for filled shoe boxes went out in their church bulletin. “We've done it for four years,” she explained. “It's such a fun project.” Hughes has had several boxes ready to go since the summer, when she and her grandchildren took them on as a multigenerational project. Students from Fayette County High School also are lending a hand and delivering their packages to Prince of Peace.

Once the boxes are collected locally, they will be taken to the Atlanta Processing Center in Norcross where they will be checked for any items that are inappropriate such as liquid shampoo, chocolate that can melt, and war toys. A small gospel story book, “The Greatest Gift of All,” which introduces Jesus, will then be placed in the boxes. They are then shipped in cargo planes to London where they are directed to specific countries.

Most children who help fill a shoe box like the idea of selecting the age and sex of the recipient closest to their own age. The categories are ages 2-4, 5-9 and 10-14. A small photo and a personal message from the giver is often included.

According to McCann, the cost of shipping a box is about $5, which is requested as a love offering to help defray expenses, but there are a number of groups that donate money to help send the gifts on their way.

This year, Roadway Trucking is a major player in the Operation Christmas Child project.

Volunteers are needed to work at the processing center in Norcross Nov. 20 through Dec. 20. The center will be open Monday through Saturday and persons wishing to help can give four hours in one of three shifts: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1 - 5 p.m. and 5 - 9 p.m. To volunteer call David Swicegood at 770-690-9640 or Laura McCraw at 770-225-6059.

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