This month, several locations in the Southern Maryland area will serve as drop-off sites for the Samaritan’s Purse project, Operation Christmas Child—joining nearly 5,000 U.S. locations collecting gift-filled shoeboxes for children in need around the world.

During the project’s National Collection Week, Nov 13-20, Southern Maryland residents will transform empty shoeboxes into gifts of hope filled with school supplies, hygiene items and fun toys. Operation Christmas Child will deliver these shoebox gifts to children affected by war, disease, disaster, poverty and famine.

This year, Southern Maryland area residents hope to contribute more than 20,500 shoebox gifts toward the 2017 global goal of reaching 12 million children.

ST. MARY’S COUNTY COLLECTION SITES:

Leonardtown Baptist Church 23520 Hollywood Road Leonardtown MD 20650

Lexington Park Baptist Church 46855 S. Shangri La Drive Lexington Park MD 20653

CALVERT COUNTY COLLECTION SITES:

Southern Calvert Baptist Church 12140 HG Truman Road Lusby MD 20657-3801

Friendship Community Baptist Church 37 Jewell Road Dunkirk MD 20754-9551

Dunkirk Baptist Church 11275 Southern Maryland Boulevard Dunkirk MD 20754-9546

CHARLES COUNTY COLLECTION SITES:

Hughesville Baptist Church 8505 Old Leonardtown Road Hughesville MD 20637-2531

First Baptist Church, La Plata 9070 Hawthorne Road La Plata MD 20646-3163

First Baptist Church, Waldorf 10045 Bunker Hill Road Waldorf MD 20603-3809

Indian Head Baptist Church 27 Raymond Avenue Indian Head MD 20640-1710

PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY COLLECTION SITE:

Kendall Baptist Church 3000 Branch Avenue Temple Hills MD 20748-1002

For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child or to view gift suggestions, visit www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/ . Participants can donate $9 per shoebox gift online through “Follow Your Box” and receive a tracking label to discover its destination. Those who prefer the convenience of online shopping can browse tinyurl.com/q9jrxx3 to select gifts matched to a child’s specific age and gender, then finish packing the virtual shoebox by adding a photo and personal note of encouragement.

Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham. The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world and, together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 146 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 160 countries and territories.