Since 1993, God has used Samaritan’s Purse to deliver over 200 million Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts to children in need and disciple 50 million of these boys and girls.

When Franklin Graham agreed to fill shoeboxes with toys and other fun items for children in war-torn Bosnia in 1993, he had no idea what the project would grow to become. Over the past 30 years, Samaritan’s Purse has collected and delivered more than 200 million Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts, thanks to a church and volunteer network in the U.S. and around the world that is hundreds of thousands strong.

In addition to bringing great joy to millions of boys and girls in need, gifts are accompanied by the Good News of Jesus Christ. Many children have been invited to follow-up discipleship through The Mailbox Club (prior to 2009) and The Greatest Journey, a 12-lesson program designed especially for shoebox recipients. We praise God that over the last three decades 50 million children have been discipled. In the past 14 years alone since The Greatest Journey was launched, over 17 million children have made decisions for Christ.

In the slums of the coastal city of Alexandria, Marina, 11, attended an Operation Christmas Child outreach event where she received a gift-filled shoebox. Brimming with toys such as a stuffed clownfish, a puzzle, a pen, and a stuffed cat dressed in purple overalls, the gift from someone far away delighted her heart.

"The thing I liked most from the box was this cat called Bundle," Marina said. "I love it very much."

But Bundle was far from the most important gift she received that day. She also learned about God’s free gift of salvation at the outreach event, and it prompted her to make a signficant decision.

"When I accepted Christ, it changed my whole life," Marina said.

“When I accepted Christ, it changed my whole life.”

Marina went on to participate in follow-up discipleship lessons where she learned about how to follow her newfound Savior and share Him with others by studying 12 Bible stories including creation as well as Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. She said, "Each lesson, I actually learned something new about God."

Now seven years later, Marina teaches these same discipleship lessons to other shoebox recipients at her church. She does so because she desires others to have the same input in their lives as she received and called, "Wonderful!"

She also still keeps her shoebox gift intact with all the items inside it to remind her of God's great love for her. Marina said, "It's not easy to keep something for seven years, but because I like it, I did!"

In addition to opening her heart up to God, the shoebox gift taught Marina a significant lesson about giving.

"I think the whole idea is that if I send something to someone, I don't have to appear," she said. "I don't have to be the one that gets the credit, but God can send me something from someone I don't know and it can change my life."

“I don't have to be the one that gets the credit, but God can send me something from someone I don't know and it can change my life.”

Marina is one of 200 million shoebox gift recipients and 50 million children discipled, but millions more boys and girls around the world need to discover God's love for them, just as she did. God can use you to help change the lives children like her simply by packing a shoebox! National Collection Week is coming Nov. 13-20, 2023 when more than 4,500 sites will be open across the country to receive your prayerfully packed gifts.

Read more on the early years of Operation Christmas Child.

For many of us, entering adulthood was a sign of independence from our parents. We enjoyed being out from under their care. While independence is a good thing as an adult, when it comes to our relationship with God, He desires just the opposite. For 33 years, our Lord modeled complete dependence upon the Father. Jesus said,

Apostle Paul also modeled complete dependence upon the Lord, although at times it came through suffering. I love 2 Corinthians 1:8-9 and often quote it when giving devotions on a DART because it expresses what I have felt on certain DARTs (Ebola/COVID).

DART team, God desires for us to have a relationship with Him where we are completely dependent upon Him. God is looking for men and women who are daily yielded, abiding, available, and completely surrendered to Him so that He might express Himself through them. Let's take time now for complete and daily dependence upon the Lord—before we deploy.

God bless you friends, and thank you for your service,

John Freyler Sr. Member Care Chaplain

You are an essential part of our global Disaster Assistance Response Team, and we want to make sure that you feel connected and appreciated. In order to better assess our current engagement and implement future strategies, please take a few minutes to complete our Engagement Feedback Survey. All survey results will be reviewed by the International Disaster Response Unit.

Your feedback is extremely valuable to us. Our work around the world would not be possible without each and every one of you!

The Prescription for Renewal Medical Missions Conference will be held Sept. 14–17 in Orlando. There will be two full days of medical lectures—over 60 in all—on topics such as pediatrics, surgery, and missionary life. This is a great way to earn CME and CEU credits.

DART members can receive a $200 discount on the full conference package by using code PFRDART200 during registration.

This activity has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits.™

If you have any questions about the conference, email events@samaritan.org. We look forward to seeing you in Orlando!

The Sharing Hope in Crisis On-Demand Training Seminar was developed by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to further equip you for ministry. Learn how you can better engage in conversation and share the hope of Jesus Christ with those who are suffering from everyday tragedies of life. This is a FREE seminar.

We will host our first DART Information Officer/Medical Information Officer training in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, on Nov. 6–9, 2023.

If you have experience or have served on DART as an information officer, medical information officer, monitoring and evaluation, and/or are specialized in data analytics, this training may be right for you!

“What has happened in Hawaii is nothing short of devastating,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse. “As the death toll has risen, my heart breaks for those who have lost loved ones and for the families who must now begin the long road to recovery. Please join me in praying for them and for our Samaritan's Purse teams who are responding in Jesus' Name.”

In the coming days, Samaritan's Purse volunteers will serve in Maui, sifting through ashes for residents in search of priceless mementos and items that may have survived the flames as clean up begins. By lending a helping hand, these volunteers will serve as tangible reminders to victims of the wildfires that God is there with them, even in tragedy.

In 2018, Samaritan's Purse mobilized equipment and more than 380 volunteers to help families in the wake of the catastrophic flooding on Kauai—providing the ministry with a robust network of contacts and partners on the ground to help implement this response.

Based in Boone, North Carolina, Samaritan's Purse responds to the physical and spiritual needs of individuals in crisis situations—especially in locations where few others are working. Led by President and CEO Franklin Graham, Samaritan’s Purse works in more than 100 countries to provide aid to victims of war, disease, disaster, poverty, famine and persecution. For more information, visit SamaritansPurse.org.

In the wake of the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over 100 years, Samaritan's Purse is responding in Maui, Hawaii. The North Carolina-based relief organization is sending its DC-8 aircraft with 17 tons of relief items to the disaster zone. As residents return to their communities, Samaritan’s Purse volunteers will help homeowners sift through the ashes for any sentimental keepsakes which may have survived the flames.

International Christian Relief Organization Sends Tools, Equipment, and Other Items to Help Families Devastated by Wildfires

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If so, prayerfully consider using your gifts to volunteer with Samaritan's Purse through Operation Christmas Child. Short-term and year-round opportunities are available. Join an army of Gospel-focused students and others who are helping to "make disciples of all the nations" (Matthew 28:19).

Samaritan's Purse partners with local churches and volunteers in more than 170 countries and territories to proclaim the Good News using gift-filled shoeboxes. Many areas where we work are extremely remote or otherwise difficult to access. Our shoebox gifts are often the first gifts that these boys and girls in need have ever received. Some of the children have never even heard of Jesus Christ.

“I love volunteering with Operation Christmas Child, because I'm helping to send the Gospel to children in need around the world and to the ends of the earth. I also love the multiplication factor. The boys and girls who come to Christ then share Him with their family and friends, resulting in even more followers of Jesus.”

Every volunteer is fully equipped and trained for their role when they come on board. No prior experience is needed. Dynamic resources, exclusive conferences, and online training specific to your role will be made available to you to help develop your unique gifts and talents.

“Volunteering with Operation Christmas Child changed my life. It helped me develop leadership, writing, and public speaking skills. Volunteering connects you with a great organization—Samaritan's Purse—that believes in young people, and trains and develops them to be successful in their personal life and in ministry.”

It doesn't take a lot of time to make an eternal impact. We offer flexibility to serve in your role on a schedule that works for you.

“Volunteering with Operation Christmas Child is a great opportunity to gain service hours, but it's so much more than that. It's a chance to serve the Lord and make a difference in the lives of boys and girls for eternity. When I first realized the eternal impact, it shook me to my core. No matter if you serve short-term or year-round, Samaritan's Purse will work around your schedule to make sure that you remain successful in ministry and in the classroom.”

You are God's "workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works" (Ephesians 2:10). As you serve the Lord by serving others, you'll form a heart for building His kingdom and deepen your own relationship with Him.

“My relationship with the Lord has grown tremendously since I became involved with Operation Christmas Child. I've seen God's goodness and faithfulness, and His hand in the ministry. It's helped me see God's heart and love for people all over the world. Jesus' heart is for every person to know Him, and that has changed me, knowing that He is a personal God and how loving He is toward me.”

More than 10,000 volunteers in the U.S. and 6,800 volunteers around the world serve on teams in their local communities to promote the ministry and collect shoebox gifts. Join them!

“When you volunteer through Operation Christmas Child, you form awesome relationships with the other students and volunteers who are serving. We're a family. We pray for each other and for the children who will receive the shoebox gifts. We also pray for the global team of churches that partner with us. I'm so thankful I get to be a small part of sharing the Gospel with children all over the world. As Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God'” (Mark 10:14).

For many children, access to these simple items is essential to an education. This was the case for Justin Thomas, a shoebox recipient in Southeast Asia whose parents could not afford the supplies needed for school. Thomas remembers the specific day he received a gift-filled shoebox from Operation Christmas Child and found it filled with toys and most exciting to him—school supplies!

Growing up with hand-me-down clothes and used items, Justin used to write with a pencil so short that he held it using a pen cap. Having an entire packet of new pencils and a pencil sharpener all his own was a treasure to Justin. This simple gift made a life-changing impact for Thomas because it opened the doors for him to receive an education.

For more information, visit samaritanspurse.org/occ. National Collection Week is Nov. 13-20. Participants can donate $10 per shoebox gift online through “Follow Your Box” and receive a tracking label to discover its destination. Those who prefer the convenience of online shopping can browse samaritanspurse.org/buildonline to select gifts matched to a child’s specific age and gender, then finish packing the virtual shoebox by adding a photo and personal note of encouragement.

Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan's Purse, seeks to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world and, together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 209 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 170 countries and territories. This year, Operation Christmas Child will celebrate its 30th year of ministry!

MEDIA NOTE: For complete media materials and high-resolution downloadable photos, visit samaritanspurse.org/occnewsroom.

Your gift to “Where Most Needed” equips Samaritan's Purse with the resources—including personnel, materials, supporting services, buildings, and equipment—to fulfill our mission of relief and evangelism worldwide.