by JoHannah Newman
With the holiday season almost upon us, it is important to keep in mind those less fortunate, and open our hearts. We must remember those whose Christmas list isn’t filled with the latest edition of the iPhone or extravagant gifts, but simply a gift at all on Christmas day.
Ciara Boyle, the Vice President of Ocean City’s well acclaimed INTERACT club, has spearheaded a project for the second year to give presents to the children of impoverished countries such as Argentina, Zimbabwe, and the Ukraine. Operation Christmas Child, as it is called, is a program originally established by Samaritan’s Purse and has now given presents to over eight million children last year alone. Shoeboxes are wrapped in paper like a Christmas present and filled with common necessities such as socks and toothbrushes, as well as a few toys or even wrapped candy. These boxes are collected and shipped to children all over the world who may not always get a Christmas present.
Last year, Ciara felt she needed to give and be generous when she discovered this program and asked her fellow students to give kindly in order to participate in such a wonderful program. In only two weeks, INTERACT was able to create ninety-six boxes to send to children within the age of two to fourteen just in time for the holidays.
This year, INTERACT set a goal to make even more shoeboxes with the help of their student body’s donations of small toys and sundries. Almost two hundred shoeboxes were packaged and sent this year, more than doubling last year’s efforts.
Ciara and INTERACT club were thrilled with their results and hope to create even more shoeboxes next year. This program is perfect for the holiday season.
