Editor:
Christmas is passed and the New Year has begun.
Before Christmas an organization called Samaritan’s Purse was preparing for an annual event. This was one of the many things they do each year - Operation Christmas Child. It has been done for 30 years. It is a program that gives children living in war, poverty and third-world countries the gift of hope in hopeless situations. During Christmas of 2013 the 100th-million filled shoe box was delivered to an eight-year-old child in the Dominican Republic.
More often such a gift gives a child hope, when it seemed like it doesn’t exist. It also makes a child feel like they are loved by someone rather than trying to exist on their own and knowing no way out of their situation but abuse.
During Christmas of 2014, 626 shoe boxes were filled in Prince Rupert, Haida Gwaii and surrounding areas. That is 98 more boxes than were filled here than last year. These boxes were done by you who were willing to take an empty box and fill it with practical things so that the recipient would have school supplies so that they could attend school, though they also needed clothing, hygiene items and a toy.
I want to thank each one of you who did fill a box that could be the beginning of a future for the recipient. Samaritan’s Purse also builds schools, medical facilities, water projects and help the disasters around the world, Canada included. Also, I want to thank the businesses that helped out in various ways, Northern Savings Credit Union and the Rupert Square Mall for giving us space to hand out the empty boxes, Greyhound bus for delivering the filled boxes to Calgary en-route to their final destinations and also to the volunteers that manned the distribution. Thanks to Inland Air for bringing the boxes back to Prince Rupert from Haida Gwaii.
Your co-operation made the collection of the shoe boxes possible. The final total for shoe boxes filled in all of Canada was 700,000.
Ethel Moorehouse, Prince Rupert