We went to the site of Operation Christmas Child in Kitchener to interview with OCC’s Paula Schneider. Their 50,000 “pop-up” facility that was just a few weeks ago an empty warehouse, has been transformed into a highly efficient operation designed to facilitate the delivery of 340,000 shoeboxes to children in need all over the world.
Each box contains anything from daily needs like gloves and school supplies to toys and dolls to play with. Groups across the country have put together these small packages for these children and now they are all collected in one place for final inspection before being packed up in 32 shipping containers for final distribution. This inspection is crucial as any material that does not comply to customs regulations could cause entire containers to be delayed. What does not make the boxes; items like toothpaste or shampoo, are collected and distributed to local charities. Paula estimates the local impact for the regional organizations totals about $350,000.
For an operation of this size, so many staff are required to help manage the 7,000 volunteers. Please check out the video and if you are interested in participating, Operation Christmas Child would love your help.
