RYAN HAGEN
News Assistant
Pepperdine students can participate in Operation Christmas Child Challenge, a worldwide charitable program where toys and other items are put in shoe boxes and donated to needy children from all over the world. The boxes will be shipped Thursday, Nov. 30, to children in countries plagued by poverty, war or natural disaster.
Justin Wilson, who is in his second year at Pepperdine’s School of Public Policy and first year at Graziadio School of Business Management has participated in the program since childhood through his church. Wilson and five other leaders brought it to Pepperdine.
Wilson said he liked the program because a small investment in terms of time and money pays off in big differences for impoverished children.
“You could put McDonald’s toys in some of these, and it’d be the world to them,” he said.
Part of the charity’s appeal is its simplicity for participants, according to Wilson.
“You just get a shoe box, fill it with toys, toiletries — things people don’t realize these kids would need — and contact me or drop it off with Joan Davis, at either CVS or the School of Public Policy, along with $7 to cover shipping,” he said.
He added that students should also print whether their gifts are most suitable for a boy or girl, and whether the child’s age is 2 to 4, 5 to 9 or 10 to 14. Then they should tape this to the top of the box, which can be a plastic container close to the size of a shoe box if that is easier to find.
Joan Davis, assistant to the director of admissions at the School of Public Policy, is collecting the boxes for shipment, while Wilson is willing to meet students at locations more convenient to them.
After being sorted, so that items are distributed as equitably and beneficially as possible, they will be sent to many less-developed nations. The proportion of packages sent to any specific country varies yearly based on need and availability, but 70 countries have received shoe boxes, including the United States during Hurricane Katrina.
Samaritan’s Purse, the charitable organization in charge of Operation Christmas Child, reports it has delivered 46 million gift-filled shoe boxes since it started that program in 1993.
Wilson would like Pepperdine to increase that amount, but as of Nov. 11 he had not received any boxes from students.
“I hope that as more people hear about it they get more involved,” he said, admitting he had yet to pack his own.
To help motivate students, Wilson also presents the program as contest.
“If students write which school they’re from — the law school, School of Public Policy, or any of the other schools — I’ll tally those up and see who has the most,” he said. “Hopefully that will appeal to everyone’s competitive side.”
To students on the fence about finding the time or the money to donate, his appeal is to the heart.
“Your parents, your friends and family are going to find money and time for yours,” he said. “And one hour and $7 of your time is going to mean a great deal to these kids. They’ll be more stoked than you’d be to get an iPod.”
Organizers do ask that certain types of items not be given. These include used or damaged items, chocolate or food, medications or vitamins, liquids or lotions, breakable items or war-related items.
“Some of these are going to war-torn countries,” Wilson explained, “so things like military figurines might dredge up some bad memories.”
Wilson said students might also want to send a note or a picture.
“If you include your name and address, the child might write back,” he said.
11-16-2006
