Gifts bound for some of the poorest parts of the world are being collected in Salmon Arm next week.
A collection centre for Operation Christmas Child will be set up at Centenoka Park Mall.
Donors are asked to fill a shoebox with toys, hygiene items, school supplies and other gifts which could benefit children in developing countries.
Along with the contents of the shoebox, a minimum donation of $10 to cover costs, including shipping, is also requested.
It is suggested donors print a label off the Operation Christmas Child website specifying whether their box is best suited for a boy or a girl, what age it would be best for, and pack it accordingly.
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Shoe boxes collected in Canada are sent to El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
People in Salmon Arm who are interested in donating can be drop shoeboxes off at the empty storefront that formerly housed Ardenes in the Centenoka Park Mall from Nov. 18 to 24.
The donation drop boxes are open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. except on Nov. 24 with a 3:30 p.m. closure.
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Operation Christmas Child is operated by Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian organization which sends gift to the children and also offers them a pamphlet on the Christian faith in their own language.
According to Clare Hale, who is helping to organize Operation Christmas Child’s Salmon Arm donation centre, the gift-filled shoe boxes are given to children regardless of their religion, and the religious pamphlet is only offered when it is culturally appropriate.
For more information on the shoebox donations and suggestions of what to fill it with visit the Samaritan’s Purse website.
@SalmonArm
jim.elliot@saobserver.net
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