From left, Becky Hawkins, Brenda Calvert and Angela Horvath after loading the final boxes for transport to Hillsboro. (Photo by Corbett Phipps)

From left, Becky Hawkins, Brenda Calvert and Angela Horvath after loading the final boxes for transport to Hillsboro. (Photo by Corbett Phipps)

By Corbett Phipps

Operation Christmas Child recently ended another local successful year. Toys, hygiene items, and school supplies donated by churches, school groups, and individuals from Adams County filled ,1494 shoe boxes (three boxes arrived after the photo was taken).

The West Union Christian Union Church was again the Adams County collection center this year. Many volunteers helped collect the shoe boxes, packed them into larger shipping boxes, and hauled them to Hillsboro. In Hillsboro, they were loaded onto tractor-trailers to transport to North Carolina. In December, hundreds of volunteers in North Carolina will inspect each shoe box before shipping them to children in need worldwide.

Operation “Christmas Child 2023” will begin again in early October 2023 with local news articles and radio messages in preparation for the mid-November collection week.

If you, your church, school group, club, or organization would like to be involved with the Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Program next year, it’s not too early to start. Many groups begin early by purchasing one or two items each month or buying end-of-season sale items to spread the cost over the whole year. You may send various toys, school supplies, or hygiene items. Do not include candy, breakables, toothpaste, liquids, or war toys. If you are interested or want more information, call or text Angela Horvath, Adams County Collection Center Coordinator, at (937) 217-6620.

On behalf of Operation Christmas Child, the Adams County Collection Center and The West Union Christian Union Church would like to thank everyone who filled a shoebox this year.