WHAT: John Brown University students will host a packing party for Operation Christmas Child. The project fills shoeboxes with toys, school supplies and hygiene items for needy children overseas. The students plan to pack hundreds of boxes of the over 20,000 shoeboxes expected to be collected from Northwest Arkansas this year.

WHEN: Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 8 p.m.
WHERE: Walker Student Center – 2000 W. University St., Siloam Springs, AR 72761

For more information contact Bonnie Mitchem (479) 228-2030

Interview Opportunities Include:

· JBU students that have experienced the joy of giving to others through Operation Christmas Child.

· Local volunteers who have been packing shoebox gifts for years and understand the impact a simple gift can make in the life of a child.

· Project organizers who dedicate hundreds of hours to coordinating shoebox gift collections in their community.

During National Collection Week, Nov. 17–24, gifts for shoe boxes can be dropped off at one of 9 NWA-area locations. The boxes are then prepared and delivered to needy children overseas using whatever means necessary—boats, airplanes, trains and even elephants. Using special tracking technology, participants can follow their box online and discover the country in which their gift will be delivered to a child in need.

Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has delivered gift-filled shoe boxes to more than 113 million children in more than 100 countries. In 2014, Operation Christmas Child hopes to collect enough shoebox gifts to reach another 10 million children.