On Friday, November 4th at 7:30pm 50 plus Elmira College students assembled to wrap shoeboxes with Christmas wrapping paper. The next Friday, November 11th at 7:30pm in the Dining Hall, about 50 students came out to stuff 365 shoeboxes full of Christmas goodies for children all around the world that wouldn’t normally receive a Christmas present. These shoeboxes were filled with items such as coloring books, crayons, notebooks, toys, stuffed animals, toothpaste, toothbrushes, wash cloths, bar soap and other valuable items for a child living in poverty. It seems a little early for Christmas, however, this has never been an excuse to the merchandise industry in America that starts selling stockings and candy canes before Halloween is over. So for the Elmira College students this is not an adequate excuse either!
Wrapping shoeboxes? That seems strange. Then again, presents come in all shapes and sizes! These two Fridays have begun a nationally and internationally known organization called Operation Christmas Child (OCC). OCC is an organization that has different groups of people (ie: college students, church groups, school groups, etc) come together to wrap shoeboxes with Christmas wrapping paper and stuff the boxes with goodies for children all around the world. These packages are sent to children in poverty stricken and war torn nations such as Haiti, Panana, Bosnia and Croatia. For a number of these children, this may be the first Christmas when they receive a gift.
Since 1993, OCC has collected over 86 million shoe box gifts to children in more than 130 countries. Some of the key places these shoe boxes have been sent in the past year include young earthquake victims in Haiti (2010), school children who were attacked by terrorists in Russia (2004), kids in Uganada who were devastated by the HIV/AIDS pandemic (2002). OCC has also reached many children in the Middle East, including Iraq and Lebanon, as well as in the war torn nation of Sudan.
The Elmira College community has come together in order to make Operation Christmas Child possible. Every year Elmira College’s Christian Fellowship hosts this event along with the generous help and support of many other clubs and sports such as LISP, Red Cross Club, Rotaract, Circle K, Lion’s Club, T.E.A.C.H. and Varsity Women’s Field Hockey. Red Cross Club raised money in order to buy stuffed animals and T.E.A.C.H. made rag dolls to fill these boxes. Many administrators and faculty have been extremely supportive in their donations, in particular, Hollie Synder. Hollie is connected with the Operation Christmas Child donation center in Big Flats and has been a huge support in terms of OCC’s effect on campus.
I have been so excited to be a part of this project and it is so great to see that even though American citizens are protesting through Occupy Wall Street and many are left without jobs, people are still donating to this wonderful cause. It breaks my heart to think that children around the world will wake up on Christmas and not receive a present. I feel so fortunate that I have always been able to find a present under the tree with my name on it when Christmas morning comes. Many privileged college students have never even second guessed their ability to receive a present on Christmas, and a lot of Elmira College students are excited to selflessly give Christmas to children they don’t even know. One EC student has told her friends to donate to OCC instead of getting her a Birthday present. It is clear that the message of Operation Christmas Child is alive on this campus and throughout the area. People can connect to this project and are excited to give Christmas to children all around the globe!
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