Operation Christmas Child GIVEAWAY!

I have to admit, you guys – I’m a little jealous I can’t enter to win this!  lol  But it is an honor to help spread the word about this amazing organization, and I’m happy that one of you will get a fun package in the mail!

We’ll get to the giveaway in just a minute, but first, a little about Operation Christmas Child.  This is a project near and dear to my heart!  It is an outreach of Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian relief and development program run by Franklin Graham, son of the one and only Billy Graham.  The mission of OCC is “to demonstrate God's love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.”

In a nutshell, every November people around the world pack a shoebox with toys, treats, and educational supplies for children in developing countries around the world.  They are distributed to the children by Christmas, and for many children this is the only gift they receive for the holiday. 

You can choose the gender and age range of the child you’d like to buy for.  Chris and I typically choose 10-14 year old boy, just because we figure it’s probably the least shopped-for category.   We usually make it a date night – we’ll shop for the gifts, then go to Starbucks afterward! 

Here’s an example of what’s going in one of our boxes this year:

Mini soccer ball {with an air pump}
Practice kicker for soccer ball {can you tell my husband was a soccer player?!}
Sketchpad with colored pencils, regular pencils, and a sharpener
Silly string
Washcloth, and bar of soap {not pictured}

There’s a whole list of packing ideas (and what’s not allowed to be packed) on the OCC website. 

Our church is accepting the boxes this Sunday morning, but you can use this finder on their website to find a packing location near you!  If you have additional questions about how to pack a shoebox, check out their FAQ page (please feel free to ask me a question in the comments or via e-mail, as well!). 

It is SUCH an amazing idea and I literally can’t sit through one of their videos in church without bawling my eyes out.  The kids get SO excited to see their gifts!  It is so, so precious. 

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To help spread the word about OCC, they sent me a giveaway package to send on to one of you!  Here’s what one lucky person will be getting in the mail:

 

- An OCC t-shirt {second picture shows the back}.  This is a thin gray material with pretty scroll designs on it (definitely for a woman, sorry guys!).  Size L but I’m really short and it wasn’t that big on me! 

- A SIGNED, Limited Deluxe Edition “Christmas with Scotty McCreery” magazine, PLUS his new Christmas CD AND a 2013 Scotty calendar {hellooooo any American Idol fans out there?!!}**

- Two OCC ornaments for your tree this year {one for you and one for a friend; pics below show front and back}

 

So fun, right?! 

All you have to do to enter this giveaway is leave a comment on this post discussing anything you want about OCC.  Your comment can be anything from “I’ve never heard of this org before but it sounds awesome!” to “We do this every year and we always put ____ in our boxes.” 

Seriously, as long as your comment has something to do with OCC, you will be entered to win!  The giveaway closes on Monday night. 

In the meantime, it’s not too late to fill a shoebox and get it out!  A child will be so blessed by your generosity! :)

 

**The Scotty magazine came to me a little scratched in the box but the CD looks to be just fine.  I was tempted to play it and test it out but I refrained. lol.  Just wanted to give full disclosure!**