I don’t wait until October to shop for Operation Christmas Child. I shop year round and am always planning for it which is why in 2009 I was able to pack 45 boxes for $45! If you haven’t seen it this year I made a video called The 12 Months of Occ’ing about how to shop ahead and be able to do more.
Last year the grand Operation Christmas Child total from Mummy Deals was: 374!!!!!!!!!!! To me these boxes do not just represent a box but a life. A life that this Christmas will know someone loves them and more than that will be reached with the Gospel of Jesus.
These children on the other side of the boxes are very different to most of ours: they sometimes lack basic necessities like running water, food, shelter and clothing. They live in the poorest of conditions and life is hard. Just a small token of love like a shoebox can help them realize that someone truly cares. There are so many stories of whole villages who’ve been impacted through this ministry and I’m privileged to be part of it.
This year I want to do more. My goal is 500 shoeboxes and to do that we have a plan that I’d love for you to be a part of:
January: Stocking stuffer/Christmas clearance.
Buy Christmas cards.
February: Valentine’s toy/hard candy clearance
March: Toiletry drive.
Call local McDonalds for donations.
April: Easter clearance.
Call for Easter candy.
May: Request for homemade items.
Ask for garage sale donations.
June: Book drive.
Unused garage sale items requested.
Call local McDonalds for donations
July: Sock/new clothes drive.
Garage sale to raise money for shipping costs.
If anyone is having a VBS: everyone brings a new toy.
August: School supply drive
September: Shoe box drive.
Call local McDonalds for donations
Hotel toiletry drive.
Dental supply drive.
October: Clothing drive.
November: Packing party
December: Toys and wrapping paper drive
Are you a church group or a volunteer coordinator? Need more ideas on how to budget for OCC this year? Please email me, I’d love to help you develop a year round plan and am available to speak to your group.
Operation Christmas Child fan? Me too! Please sign up for my daily tips email. You’ll get great FREEBIES in your mailbox! If you love OCC like me then you’ll want to pack as many boxes as possible and by signing up for my email you won’t miss out on the deals I write about throughout the year.
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