What do shoes, Christmas, your local department store, and children all around the world have in common: Operation Christmas Child.

The outreach program sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse collects shoeboxes from around the nation filled with items any child would want or need.

“It’s a fun way to share the Lord through gift-giving,” Connie Hodges, education and music secretary at Brookhaven First Baptist Church, said.

Operation Christmas Child collects shoeboxes filled with toys such as non-liquid hygiene items, clothing accessories, toys such as stuffed animals, balls, jump ropes and an optional personal note.

“We had a donor donate a lot of plastic shoe boxes that we distributed to the congregation, and people have been bringing them back,” Larry Russell, pastor of Montgomery Baptist Church, said.

Hodges said a lot of churches and businesses in the county are collecting boxes and will deliver them to First Baptist. First Baptist will then send all of those boxes to Southwest Mississippi Community College who’ll send them to Atlanta where the boxes will be dispersed to countries all around the world.

First Baptist will be accepting boxes from Monday, Nov. 17 to Friday, Nov. 21 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

More information about the Samaritan’s Purse organization and Operation Christmas Child can be found on Samaritan’s Purse’s website, www.samaritanspurse.org. More specifics about what all can be included can be found there as well.

Other Operation Christmas Child drop-off points are Wesson Baptist Church and Monticello Baptist Church in Wesson and Monticello, respectfully.