Our youth is taking the initiative to participate in the charity program Operation Christmas Child by the international relief organisation Samaritan's Purse. What we're going to do is get a shoe box and fill it up with things for a child in need. There's a specific list of things you can and can't buy (make sure you follow it otherwise the inappropriate items will not be sent). If you have things at home that are new and unused, you can use that :) You can put in a note and a picture of yourself. The youth will collect the boxes and take them to a drop off site and then those people will ship it off to neighbouring countries.
Postage and handling is $8 each box, the youth will collect this money from everyone and make one big submission. Donations more than $2 can be tax deductable but since we're submitting it together we hope you guys don't mind not getting a tax deduction receipt. Each box can cost a minimum of $20 (including postage and handling), so if you like, you can work in pairs and threes. If you want to make a box, email me and I'll allocate you a partner (if you want) and let you know whether your child is a girl or boy and what age group they are. It's alot of fun to shop for your child with other people doing it :)
I'm so excited about this. I believe our youth has a generous heart and we have so much more potential to help the community and even internationally. I'd like to set our youth the goal of 25 boxes! Together we can bring gifts to kids around the world who may have never received a present before.
Here are some videos for your interest. The first is about Operation Christmas Child. The second is explaining how to put a box together. There's also a link to an instruction sheet, but don't print the labels because the youth will do one big submission. http://www.samaritanspurse.org.au/pdf/OCC-HOWTO-08-AUS-WEB.pdf
