It may seem too early to think about Christmas, but one organization is preparing to make the holiday special for millions of children across the globe who live in orphanages.
Every year “Operation Christmas Child” delivers gift boxes to kids who live in deep poverty.
This weekend, Northern Nevada received a visit from Jaki Steward who grew up in a Guatemalan orphanage. We caught up with her when she spoke with a group at South Reno United Methodist Church.
Jaki received a special shoebox when she was five years old. “For a lot of us, that was the first gift we ever received," Jaki remembers. The 21-year-old now travels the US and shares her story of living as an orphan.
"Growing up, I never had anything that was mine. From the clothes I would wear, my friend would wear the next day,” says Jaki. “The few toys we managed to keep away from the boys were shared - even a toothbrush.”
Jaki says she and the 18 girls she shared a room with didn't even know what toothpaste was. Then came the special Christmas when she opened her very own box. "I had my own toothbrush, that was the very best part of the box," says Jaki. “I loved receiving the coloring book and crayon and the stuffed animal that was something that I could love and something I could hold and it was mine."
Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse. The Christian relief organization delivers gift filled shoeboxes to children in more than 150 countries every year.
The group relies on donations to make it happen. Northern Nevadans have been participating for years. Eight-year-old Lilly loves packing a special box with all kinds of goodies. "I'm probably gonna make it for a girl. I'm probably gonna, like, put a stuffed animal in there."
Colleen Kennedy and her husband are area coordinators for Operation Christmas Child. "We brought in 10,500 last year and our great, big huge goal is 20,000 this year."
So, what sorts of items can be used to fill a shoebox?
"Things that you have anywhere in your house, they mean so much more to a child who has nothing" like new school supplies, toiletries, toys and sweets. Follow your heart says Jaki, who was adopted by an American family when she was six, but still remembers opening that shoebox gift so many years ago. "It was just an incredible opportunity to realize that someone had packed this for me. They didn't know me, I didn't know them," but every item in that box was perfect, says Jaki.
She now shares her story across the US hoping to inspire others to give.
National collection week for Operation Christmas Child begins November 14th. Several churches in the region are designated drop off locations.
For guidelines on giving and drop off locations in Northern Nevada
