By Joel Beachum
Staff Writer

Each year, students from across the state of North Carolina join together with people throughout our country to make shoeboxes for Christmas.

Operation Christmas Child (OCC) reaches out to millions of children worldwide each Christmas. The OCC is led by Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, and is a part of Samaritan's Purse that began in 1970.

Members of the Baptist Student Union at UNC-Pembroke took part in the project through the North Carolina Baptist State Convention. The state convention pledged 500 shoeboxes in 2004 and then divided that number between participating campuses. The UNCP-BSU collected 21 boxes. Last Sunday, those shoeboxes were delivered to the First Baptist Church in Laurinburg – the drop-off location for this area.

Amy Hayes, UNCP-BSU missions coordinator, got the word out to the students from BSU. The shoeboxes could be filled with toys, candy, clothing, school supplies, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste and other needed items.

Hayes said that they really pushed for student support during the fall in order to make things happen.

“This year, we had a great turnout. The students were a lot more excited about putting their boxes together,” Hayes said. “A lot of students got excited about it and wanted to put a shoebox together. They were also really excited about the toys they got to put in there, what age groups they were going to send the shoebox to and how excited their kids were going to be.”

Many students from UNCP live away from home and the BSU offers students a chance to feel right at home. They can also take part in many ministry venues.

“I think that it is a great opportunity for us. Not being able to go home on the weekends or being familiar with local churches in the area, many people aren’t involved in church and they kind of see [the BSU] as their church,” Hayes said. “Whatever ministry opportunities we can give them here, such as Operation Christmas Child, is a great opportunity.”

Senior UNCP student and BSU member Ryan Tingle said, “It is a good thing that we can reach out to children across the world and help others have a Christmas where otherwise it may not be possible.”

Dr. Gene Smith, coordinator for the collection center at FBC-Laurinburg, which serves Scotland County, parts of Robeson County and Marlboro County, said that over 95 countries were reached in 2003 with the shoeboxes.

As of Nov. 21, they had collected 786 shoeboxes and would like to surpass 1,000. The boxes will then be taken to Fayetteville, loaded onto roadway trailers and hauled from the Methodist College parking lot to the OCC Center in Charlotte.

They are processed in Charlotte and then sent overseas and hope to pass two million this year. Smith commented that 6.62 million children worldwide were reached last year. They started in December and were delivering through April. All total, the OCC will attempt to collect seven million shoeboxes this year.

“This is something that many times we don’t have the tangible evidence. We have no idea who is going to receive that shoebox we’ve prepared, however in the distribution process, they have recorded things that are just delightful to see,” Smith said. “To see the smiles, the cheers, the happiness that these shoeboxes make for children all over the world.”

This year’s video report had children from Europe, Asia, Southeast Asia, some from Central America and South America.

Dr. Luther “Drag” Kimrey and a team of mission workers went to Kiev, Ukraine, to work during the summer of 2004. Kimrey talked about seeing shoeboxes in Kiev and seeing the joy it brought to children around the world. He also included a message about giving thanks during the special service. The special OCC service is always held at Thanksgiving time.