That's a Wrap! Over 600 Gift-Filled Shoeboxes Are on Their Way - 96five Family Radio

That’s a Wrap! Over 600 Gift-Filled Shoeboxes Are on Their Way

Thanks to 96five listeners, over 600 children around the world will receive a gift filled shoebox this year through Operation Christmas Child.

By Steff WillisThursday 2 Nov 2023Station NewsReading Time: 2 minutes

Thank you Brisbane for getting on board once again with Operation Christmas Child. 

Operation Christmas Child Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international relief organisation. It’s a practical, hands-on way to give joy and bring hope to children in need across the world by filling shoeboxes with toys, school supplies, hygiene items and other fun gifts.

The gift-filled shoeboxes are sent to local partners around the world that use them as a means of reaching out to children in their own communities with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

The 96five team with this year's Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

The 96five team with this year’s Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

After receiving gift-filled shoeboxes, many children are invited to participate in The Greatest Journey discipleship program and millions of children each year are making decisions to follow Christ.

The Greatest Journey is a 12-lesson discipleship program offered by local churches to many of the children who receive shoebox gifts. Children who participate in the program learn how to follow Christ and share Him with others. As they do, entire families and communities are transformed by the power of the Gospel, and churches are started. More than 35 million children have enrolled in this program since 2009.

During October and November each year, volunteers work together to inspect and organise shoeboxes to prepare them for international shipment to countries all around the world.

96five is proud to partner with Samaritan’s Purse and to see the number of donations grow throughout the years from 341 in 2019 to over 649 in 2023. We loved visiting Northside Christian College to say thanks and collect over 80 shoeboxes from the Year 8 cohort.

Whether it was donating, shopping up a storm or creating handmade gifts – we think you’re pretty awesome Brisbane!

In 2022, Australia and New Zealand sent 210,182 shoeboxes to Cambodia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Madagascar, Nauru and Papua New Guinea. Globally, there were more than 10.5 million shoeboxes collected and sent to over 100 countries and territories through Samaritan’s Purse.

To learn more about the work of Samaritan’s Purse, visit the website.