Operation Christmas Child 2020 Plan

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Sunday, November 1, is the date that all of the Operation Christmas Child boxes are due at the church.  It's quickly approaching!

You have TWO choices for 2020:

1) EVERY FAMILY PACKS ONE 

We would LOVE for EVERY family to pack at least one shoe box, but your or your family may want to pack more than one. You can set your own personal or family goal if you’d like! If you have small children, you might want to let each child pack a box, or you can do it as a family. 

2) ADOPT A BOX

If you’re unable to personally shop for shoe box items, you can pay $10 to the Mt. Airy Operation Christmas Child Fund, and the shopping and packing will be completed for you! If you’re not able to donate the full $10, you can donate any amount you’d like. This can be given in the Sunday offering, online, or by mailing it to the church; however, YOU MUST MARK YOUR DONATION “OCC FUND.”

If you choose Option 1, PLEASE REMEMBER:

First decide the gender and age you’d like to pack your box for. You will need an empty shoe box. These do not have to be wrapped in wrapping paper. You’ll need to tape a boy/girl label on the box and mark the age. Labels do NOT need to be printed in color! Please attach your label at the top or the bottom of the box (not in the middle). OCC straps packing tape around the middle, once they are processed at the centers.  Labels can be downloaded here: 

https://ea0de9ec-b132-4a0a-b113-a04a1cd3a627.filesusr.com/ugd/4f0fb6_c48d7bea6a11492b992a31d5c7e35094.pdf

There are certain items that need to be in every box, no matter the gender or age you choose:

• Hygiene Items: Washcloth, soap bar (any soap can be sent, but Ivory soap floats in rivers), and a toothbrush

• School items: A spiral notebook, 2 or 3 pencils, a chunk eraser or 3 cap erasers, and a small pencil sharpener - these items allow recipients to attend school. Crayons can also be sent, if you’d like, along with a coloring book. Pencils do not have to be sharpened, but they can be, if you choose.

• Toys: A WOW item that will wow a child when they open their box, such as a stuffed animal or a doll or a ball or clothing item, depending on the gender of the child you choose to pack for. Also, small filler toys can be packed such as play dough, small bouncy balls, slinkies, Rubik’s cube, etc. Any small filler toys can be sent. Puzzles are also great! Remember to get the age you’re packing for as far as how many pieces are in the puzzle.

• You can also choose to put flip flops, shoes, or a clothing item in your box, if you’d like.

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AS YOU PACK, PLEASE REMEMBER:

• NO MILITARY TOYS OR CLOTHING ITEMS CAN BE SENT. These will be removed at the processing center, because they can put the child in danger.

• NO TOOTHPASTE OR CANDY can be sent. 

• NO MEDICINES OR MEDICAL ITEMS can be sent. 

• NO LIQUIDS can be sent.

• USED ITEMS CANNOT BE SENT. This stops the shipments at Customs Borders. All items must be new, or they will be removed at the centers. 

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A few suggestions:
 

• Themed boxes are so much fun to pack! Some ideas are Frozen, Lion King, Superhero (Spider-Man, Batman, etc.) LEGO, Disney Princess, a certain color. A themed box means you would put two to three items of the same theme in one box, but it can be more, if you choose.

• Toothbrushes are available at Dollar Tree, OR you can ask your dentist to donate a toothbrush. Most will do this! Washcloths and soap are also available at Dollar Tree. 

• If you have small hotel soaps from your travels, you can pack four small soaps instead of one regular-sized bar. 

• School supplies are already on sale right now. Pentech notebooks and Cra-z-art crayons are on sale for 25 cents at Walmart. Pencils, sharpeners, and erasers are also on sale. 

• Stuffed animals are available at Dollar Tree. So are small filler toys.

A FEW VERY IMPORTANT THINGS:

OUR GOAL FOR THIS YEAR IS 300 BOXES. This is much lower than we usually pack, but due to our limits of the pandemic, we have adjusted our 2020 focus. WE HOPE TO SURPASS THIS GOAL. 

We collect shipping funds year-round, and as of now, we have shipping covered on all the boxes we will pack this year! Praise the Lord for that! So you won’t need to cover the $9 cost of shipping for your box! You can just focus on the contents! THANK YOU! 

Our collection day at Mt. Airy will be Sunday, November 1st! All boxes will need to be brought to church on that day. That’s the start of Daylight Savings Time, so that will help you remember!

We have already collected a few items during the first few months of 2020. Those will be used next year, as we pack our 2021 boxes. Due to the unknowns of the virus, we decided that it would not be wise to provide our gathered items for folks to pick up.

All tags and packaging needs to be removed from your items unless it serves a purpose. Crayon boxes are fine! If you pack a puzzle, you can cut out the picture from the box and put the pieces in a small plastic bag. The reason for removing this is because there aren’t landfills in most of these countries, and trash is a problem for them. Also, it gives you more room to pack items!

Mt. Airy Operation Christmas Child has its own Facebook page. Info is constantly shared and updated on there about OCC. Please “LIKE” it, so you can stay up-to-date!

God has a plan for EVERY box we will pack!  Since 2013, Mt. Airy’s boxes have been sent to children in 37 countries on five continents! Isn’t that exciting!? That’s Mt.Airy GO!

Our goal this year is 300 boxes but we hope to surpass that number.  Let’s CONTINUE to send Jesus to children all around the world! 

For any questions, please contact Kathy Elrod at Rkjbelrod84@gmail.com or 864-380-8981; or Jason Reid at jreid@mtairybaptist.com or 864-304-4576.