Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind. OCC sends gift-filled shoeboxes to children in need around the world. More than a thousand of them will have originated in the basement of a Latonia home.
Leading up to its National Collection Week — November 16-23 — Doris Howard, a member of Latonia Baptist Church, collects and packs shoeboxes in her basement.
Members of Latonia Baptist Church have been packing shoeboxes since 1998. That first year, they did two. In 2014 they packed 1085. Most of them in Doris Howard’s basement.
Doris schedules the extended team of volunteers throughout the week before the collection week — and uses her basement as a collection site for supplies throughout the year.
In the nine Northern Kentucky OCC counties (Boone, Bracken, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton, Owen and Pendleton), a goal of 26,262 shoeboxes has been set (an 8% increase over last year).
The shoeboxes are then transport to the Oak Ridge Baptist Church — the Kenton County Relay Center.
A total of 13 drop-off locations throughout Northern Kentucky are open to receive boxes this week, National Collection Week..
Worldwide, OCC hopes to collect 11 million shoeboxes to distribute to over 120 countries in 2015. To find the closest drop off location, go to Samaritan Purse and enter a zip code.