Shoeboxes Filled with Love and Lessons

PhotobucketAny girl with a shoe fetish will tell you, you never throw away the boxes.  These stylish ladies save the boxes and neatly line their closet shelves with rows of shoeboxes.

 

As for runners, there’s a never ending supply of shoeboxes or at least a new shoebox every three months or so.  

 

During my life as a running SAHM, my shoes consisting mostly of running shoes, Crocs and flip-flops which I wear too often to keep neatly stored in rows of boxes, but rather piled in heaps on the bottom of my closet.

 

Although I don’t save the shoeboxes to store my shoes anymore, I do save the boxes for a charity first brought to my attention by my friend, Lori.  I credit Lori for introducing me to two things: running and Operation Christmas Child.  Under her direction, our moms group, Moms on the Go, began an Operation Christmas Child drive every November. 

 

 OOC

 

Throughout the year, my daughters save the toys from their fast food kid’s meals specifically for this charity.  Naturally, they each prefer to fill a box for a girl and I fill a box for a boy.  If our boxes seem a bit empty, I take the girls to the dollar aisle at Target and have them pick a few more items to add to their shoeboxes.  This year, my girls will include drawings, photos and a letter telling a little about themselves.

 

For the first time last year, I pre-paid the postage for our shoeboxes on-line.  After our boxes were delivered, I received an e-mail from Samaritan’s Purse naming the destination of packages.  The e-mail included a link which highlighted the destination on the map and from that same link, my girls and I viewed images of children in Guyana holding their small treasure chests.  My girls found the photos gratifying and I appreciated the brief geography lesson it offered.  Most importantly, I truly appreciated the larger lesson Operation Christmas Child has taught my girls year after year:  Our small boxes of joy have a huge impact on another child.

 

Thanks to Lori, my girls and I look forward to Operation Christmas Child every November.  It brings us such pleasure to fill another child’s life with joy and love.

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8 comments

  1. lindsay says:

    We did operation Christmas when I was younger too! Sounds like a fun and meaningful project for the girls. I don’t think we got any follow-up from the organization though, but that would be cool to see the other kids, especially as a kid!

    • Run DMT says:

      I think the e-mail is a relatively new thing. Now, they also recommend for you to include a personal letter in the box because some recipients write back. Such a wonderful program!

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