Members of the Selma Baptist Association are again asking that members of all religious denominations be part of the international effort known as Operation Christmas Child. A project of Samaritan’s Purse, a relief organization headed by Franklin Graham, its members collect gift-filled shoe boxes and deliver them to children living in desperate situations around the world.

Coordinated locally by Kitty Singley, Operation Christmas Child in Selma and Dallas County has its Ingathering at Relay Center at Selma Baptist Association Building, next to One-Way Book Store across the street from Selma High School.

To participate, find an empty shoe box, wrap it and the lid separately in holiday paper, determine if the gift will be for a boy or a girl in one of these age categories:

2-4, 5-9 or 10-14, then mark the correct gender and age on a label attached to the top of the box.

The variety of gifts inside the box might include small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, yo-yos, school supplies such as pens, pencils, crayons or markers, coloring books, writing pads and paper. Also welcome are toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, combs, washcloths; also hard candy, flashlights, socks, T-shirts, small pictures books and a note to the child with your address.

DO NOT include used items, toy gums and knives, chocolate or perishable food items, liquids of any kind; i.e. shampoo, lotions, bubbles; medicines or breakable items.

To help cover shipping and other costs, please enclose a check for $5 or more in an envelope clearly visible on top of the gift items.

The Relay Center for Operation Christmas Child will be open until 2 p.m. today (Thursday and from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. this evening. Hours on Friday and Saturday are 9 a.m. until noon.

In Selma last year a total of 2,258 boxes were delivered to a collection center in Montgomery. Across the state of Alabama there were 124,208 boxes collected. The boxes are delivered to children in 95 countries including Afghanistan, Uganda, Sudan, Panama and the Philippines.

Since Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse adopted Operation Christmas Child in 1993, it has distributed more than 24 million shoeboxes for needy children in 118 countries. Operation Christmas Child has other projects that minister to the needs of boys and girls, providing food, clothing, shelter, medical care and education.

The Children’s Heart Project of Samaritan’s Purse brings dozens of children with heart defects for life-giving surgery. It also supports homes in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America for AIDS orphans and children with HIV/AIDS.

There’s still time. Find a shoebox, fill it with gifts for children and deliver it to the Relay Center by Saturday afternoon.