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Four sixth-graders at Briggs Chaney Middle School have shoe boxes on their minds.
Over the past several months, they've questioned how to get them, where to store them, when to pick them up and where to drop them off.
Working with the Operation Christmas Child project of the Christian relief organization Samaritan's Purse, the boys will collect donations through Nov. 16, when they'll collect all the shoe boxes and bring them to a centralized drop-off point.
"I found out that helping people can be fun; I don't know why, actually," Jared said. "I thought it would be a cool thing to do, and to show that kids can actually make a difference."
Samaritan's Purse collected nearly 8 million filled shoe boxes in 2008, which were sent to recipients such as toddlers in war-torn Georgia and teen-age girls in Timbuktu, according to the nonprofit's 2009 special report. The shoe boxes provide necessary goods to children while seeking to spread the word of God through included pamphlets of bible lessons, the report said.
"It's always exciting to see more children get involved in this, because it is a kids-helping-kids project," Operation Christmas Child spokeswoman Charissa Clearman said. "It's really interesting to see, since these gifts do go to children, kids who usually do receive Christmas gifts each year get involved in this project."
Three of the boys became interested in community service through a one-week, 40-hour service camp at Resurrection Catholic Church in Burtonsville. Over the course of the week, they made sandwiches for Habitat for Humanity, assembled blankets for cancer patients and decorated covers of journals for soldiers in Iraq. After the camp, they questioned how they could continue their involvement in service projects.
Kevin's mom conducted some research and found out about Operation Christmas Child. Ryan joined the three campers in August. The four have been working on the project ever since.
"It's just like, why do you have to start thinking about Christmas this early, but I guess [the box] gets to them closer to the holidays," Ryan said, on starting a holiday-themed project when the weather is in the 90s.
After school one recent afternoon, the boys watched a DVD they received from the nonprofit explaining the impact of their gifts. Kevin lay across the living room floor, the rest of the boys sprawled across arm chairs. It was their 14th time watching the DVD, they said, but they still sat silently listening to the stories of how a gift of a doll, along with an accompanying prayer booklet, could make an impact on a child's life.
The boys said they talked with their church pastors and created a home video to show to congregations — so they wouldn't have to speak in public, they said — and have been getting the word out to get shoe boxes donated to local churches.
As altruistic as their reasons for doing the project, they said it doesn't hurt that the project allows them to spend extra time together creating advertising posters, packaging boxes and making videos. The boys still laugh when they think about the bloopers in their video, something they said helps keep the audience interested.
"It's not like school where you work, work, work," Cooper said. "... Your friends are there, too," Kevin chimed in.
The boys are excited to get their donations off to kids in need, they said.
"I bet you some kids will be shocked because they don't know that this is a thing, and they're not expecting anything," Ryan said.
"It's true," Jared said. "Some kids go through Christmas like any other day."
Interested in making a shoe box of your own? Pick a gender and age group (2-4, 5-9 or 10-14). Then pack a festively decorated box with toys, school supplies, toiletries, candy and a note. Include a donation of at least $7 to cover shipping and other project costs. You can drop off your donation during office hours at one of the following local locations:
-Resurrection Catholic Church, 3315 Greencastle Road, Burtonsville, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 301-236-5200.
-First Alliance Church, 14500 New Hampshire Ave., Colesville, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 301-384-6996.
-3905 National Drive, Suite 170, Burtonsville. Donations accepted during open house, from 4 to 7 p.m. Nov. 19. Call 301-989-0088.
-Sligo Adventist School, 8300 Carroll Ave., Takoma Park, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday. Call 301-434-1417.
-First Baptist Church of Wheaton, 10914 Georgia Ave., Wheaton, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 16 to 20, and from 1 to 3 p.m. Nov. 21. Call 301-949-6585.
-Immanuel's Church, 16819 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 301-989-4673.
