Amid the hectic preparations for Christmas— the shopping the party planning the baking the traveling— the deeper meaning of the holiday season can get easily lost. This is why some students on campus are working to bring the spirit of giving and making a real impact on those less fortunate to Pepperdine.
Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is an international Christian organization that aims to provide poverty-stricken children with Christmas gifts. Millions of people in the United States and other countries come together every year to pack up shoe boxes with necessities such as socks and toiletries as well as non-perishable snacks and small age-appropriate gifts. The shoe boxes are then sent to various locations all over the world including North Korea the Philippines India and Georgia to be received on Christmas morning. If the country allows it the Gospel is shared. Even if the country does not allow for the message of Christ to be spread the boxes are still given and in the hope that Christ’s love is shown by the giving of gifts.
OCC is run by an organization called Samaritan’s Purse which has worked for more than 35 years to alleviate the suffering of the sick poor and those recovering from natural disasters. In a variety of ways Samaritan’s Purse works to provide emergency relief grow community development and spread the love of Christ. This program stresses its Christian message through their multiple volunteer programs.
Junior Elizabeth Johnstone is one student who decided she wanted to get OCC started at Pepperdine.
“At Pepperdine we are taught to freely give she said. We are so blessed and it is important to give to those in need.”
Working alongside Johnstone is junior Alexandra Epperson. She too wanted to reach out to the community to help aid less fortunate children around the world.
“OCC is important because it shows students that they can bring a message of hope to people around the world by doing something seemingly small as spending an hour or so putting together a shoe box gift said Epperson.
Pepperdine is working with Malibu Presbyterian Church in order to ensure underprivileged kids get a small piece of Christmas cheer this year. Students who are in charge of OCC on campus will collect the boxes and take them to the church, which will send them to one of six shipping centers. Then, the boxes will be processed and delivered to different cities and villages all over the world.
OCC works to aid those in need with both necessities and luxuries. People can even track the progress of their box by going online to Samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/EZ_Give_Donations. When someone prints off a label for his or her box, the barcode on that label is then connected to the donor’s e-mail address. OCC will send an e-mail to the giver, listing the box’s final stop. Those who donate are also asked to give $7 per box to help alleviate shipping costs, but it is not required.
Students like junior Ryan Boss see this program as a necessary activity.
Pepperdine is a very affluent student body and we should be willing to give from our extra resources especially during the Christmas season Boss said.
Realizing that most students at Pepperdine have never experienced a Christmas that lacked in any area brings our school’s motto of freely giving” into a greater light.
“It’s a really easy way to impact a child’s life Boss said. I just think we all grew up with happy Christmases and the reality is that not a lot of kids get that around the world and this is a good way to give something meaningful to a child.”
With the multitude of nonprofits and organizations to get involved in it sometimes gets confusing or simply too much of a hassle to take the time to find out what needs to be done in order to make a difference.
“I think that so often we are overwhelmed by the task of creating change in and bettering our world that it helps to have a concrete and attainable way of doing so Epperson said. OCC provides both a fun and feasible way of enriching children’s lives and showing them that they are not alone in the world because even strangers are praying and vying for them.”
Because OCC is a Christian-based program it places a certain importance on spreading the message of Jesus Christ. Boss sees and endorses the value of this idea.
“One of the things that impresses me about Operation Christmas Child is that it not only meets the necessities of the children like hygiene and school needs but it also puts a high emphasis on New Testament things like picture books he said. I really like that they place emphasis on both the physical and spiritual needs of the child.”
Johnstone is a strong promoter of OCC because she believes “this is what we are called to do.” She also sees this as a good opportunity for college students because it does not require committing a huge amount of money or time.
“It is a reminder that Christmas is about celebrating Christ’s birth and sharing that news with others Johnstone said. It puts all of the other holiday ‘stress’ of decorating gift-buying and baking into perspective and reminds you to give beyond yourself.”
Epperson agrees that OCC is working toward the benefit of humanity.
“OCC delivers a message of faith and love to children and communities that are often completely devoid of hope she said.
Johnstone encourages everyone who is able and willing to participate, whether it be together with a friend or on your own. She even has a surplus of shoe boxes she will donate to get others started. She strongly supports not merely filling each box with things, but also personalizing it.
Put a letter in the box for [the children receiving] and continue to pray for them as we approach Christmas. This can be a really special thing Johnstone said. Make it personal and think about who will be receiving it. Acts 20:35 says “We must pray to help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus how he himself said ‘It is more blessed to give than receive.'”
While it may seem early to start thinking about Christmas before Thanksgiving has even made its appearance the deadline for OCC is Nov. 14. On that Saturday boxes can be dropped off in the Sandbar from noon to 5 p.m. in which people can wrap their boxes while munching on snacks and getting to know others who are participating in this charitable program.
For more information on how to get involved with Operation Christmas Child students can e-mail Elizabeth Johnstone at elizabeth.johnstone@pepperdine.edu or Alex Epperson at alexandra.epperson@pepperdine.edu. Students can also go online to Samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC to find out more about how OCC works and the guidelines for packing a box.