Kingsland Baptist Church is encouraging people to fill a shoe box for a child.

For the last three years, the church at 20555 Kingsland Blvd. has served as a relay center for Operation Christmas Child, which is operated through Samaritan’s Purse, a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization.

The church will collect shoe boxes from a 50-mile radius Nov. 16-23 for children worldwide. Organizers anticipate collecting 5,000 gift-filled boxes that will be shipped via truck to Samaritan’s Purse.

“We want to be involved with an initiative that touches lives of people beyond our own community,” said Omar Garcia, Kingsland’s missions pastor. “Especially children who have little access to the kinds of things that children enjoy and need.”

Garcia said it is important to let these children know that they are loved and not forgotten.
Bryce Wilks, media relations representative, Operation Christmas Child, said indications are the project should grow despite the economy. He explained that the organization has more national partnerships this year to bring in more outlets for gift-filled shoe boxes.

Along with an expanded collection network, Wilks said the agency is trying to increase the interactivity of participation. This year, a program called EZ Give will allow people to pay for shipping that will place a barcode on a mailed package. That barcode will allow the agency to track shipped boxes. For information, visit the Web site at www.samaritanspurse.org/.

“When it’s delivered, people can see in which country their shoe box has arrived,” he said.
The goal is to collect 5.2 million boxes in America and 8.2 million worldwide. “Shoe boxes will be sent to more than 100 countries,” he said, listing countries in South America, Central America and Africa.

Garcia said, “This is an opportunity to bless and encourage kids who live in very difficult places.”

Garcia said Kingsland has participated in the
project every year in the 4½ years he’s been at the congregation.

Amy Granger, Kingsland’s project coordinator, said Kingsland always has participated in some form. She said the church has about 50 volunteers who will take part, in addition to members of the congregation’s student ministry, a Boy Scout troop and Parkway Fellowship Houston.

“This is a project we’ve done for several years,” said Parkway youth group leader Angela Glidewell. She expects between seven and 10 youths to help out through a program called WYRED — Winning Youth through Relationships, Evangelism and Discipleship. As a community service project, the youths will on Nov. 21 make sure the boxes have proper tags and put them in big boxes which are loaded on the truck.

Granger explained shoe boxes are sorted according to six categories: young boy or girl, boy and girl ages 5 or 6 and teen boy or girl. Gifts can include small toys, hygiene items such as toothbrushes and toothpaste, little mittens, hair clips, hard candy, gum, socks and stuffed animals. She encourages people to purchase six-quart plastic shoe boxes that can be reused later for rice, beans or water.

Collections will be accepted from noon to 4 p.m. Nov. 16-18, noon to 7 p.m. Nov. 19, noon to 4 p.m. Nov. 20 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 21. Collected items will be loaded onto the truck Sunday.

People who want to help are asked to call Granger at 281-492-0784, ext. 140, or e-mail agranger@kingsland.org/.