The holiday season is fast approaching. This means, chief
among other things, fundraising time for the Samaritan’s
Purse International annual Operation Christmas Child. And
teaming up with a fundraiser for them is Moving Ahead
Communications (MAC), an Ohio-based business support
services company.
“Samaritan’s Purse operates wonderful emergency relief,
community development, vocational programs worldwide for
people of all ages,” said Diana Barnum, freelance writer
and president of MAC. “And being a mom and teacher, I
particularly like how they impact the lives of vulnerable
children through their clothing, educational, feeding and
shelter programs, letting them know they are not
forgotten.”
Although MAC began 1984, with the design of
greeting cards in Spanish, Arabic and Chinese, initial work
began several years earlier, in 1979. During that year, the
company's founder, Diana Barnum, was awarded a Teaching
Associate position at The Ohio State University, Department
of Spanish, where many of the original concepts and
materials for Moving Ahead were started. Over the years,
the company has grown to help companies worldwide with a
variety of business support services.
To help raise funds and support Samaritan's Purse/Operation
Christmas Child, MAC will donate ten percent of all
purchases made through their Gift-Gallery division online
at: http://www.gift-gallery.us to Operation Christmas
Child.
“Filling a shoebox is a fun activity for families, church
groups and other companies and organizations to do
together,” said Barnum. “You can set up mini-assembly lines
in your homes and have Operation Shoebox parties, filling
up boxes with donations contributed by everyone while
enjoying snacks and fellowship. Kids also like to join in
and often fill up shoeboxes on their own with their
allowance and other Christmas funds they’ve saved.
An area lacking, though, is money for shipping a lot of these boxes
overseas. And that’s where we want to help – plus fill gaps
with more shoebox gifts and shoeboxes (we like to donate
plastic shoe-sized boxes over traditional cardboard ones so
that children and their families can use them year-round
for storage).”
Samaritan’s Purse
Samaritan’s Purse International was created based on the
biblical mandate found in Luke 10:30-37, describing how the
Samaritan rescued a hurting man whom others had passed by,
Jesus told His hearers, "Go and do likewise." The
world-renowned group Samaritan’s Purse aids the world’s
poor, sick and suffering, offering food, medicine and
assistance through emergency relief programs, among them
its holiday flagship program, Operation Christmas Child.
Operation Christmas Child
Operation Christmas Child provides gift-filled shoe boxes
for children around the world. Its overriding purpose is to
help people of all ages be involved in providing toys and
sharing God’s love to children around the globe. Operation
Christmas Child purchases and accepts donations, toys and
other presents that are placed into shoeboxes and then
shipped around the world.
In 2005, nearly 7.6 million gift-filled shoeboxes were
created and shipped to children in over 90 countries.
Recommended gift ideas included small toys, school
supplies, hygiene items (toothbrush, toothpaste, mild bar
soap, comb, washcloth), hard candy, gum, T-shirts, socks,
ball caps; sunglasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches,
flashlights (with extra batteries). A note to the child
(addressed for a possible reply from the recipient) and
photo were in some.
Items not allowed in the shoeboxes included: used or
damaged items; war-related items such as
toy guns, knives or military figures; chocolate or food;
liquids or lotions; medications or vitamins; breakable
items such as snow-globes or glass containers; aerosol
cans.
How to Participate / Deadline
To participate in the fundraiser:
- Visit: http://www.gift-gallery.us and place gift orders:
fresh flowers, gourmet goodies, gift baskets, corporate
gifts and more for all occasions.
- Bookmark the link, saving it in your Favorites (or other) folder
- Share the site link with friends, families, co-workers and others
- Place gift orders early, by November 12, 2006, to meet the
National Collection week deadline on this end which is
November 13-20, so that children get their packages in time
for Christmas.
- Return to the site for all gift-giving occasions year-round
(it’s a fundraiser site 24/7), updated regularly with online specials
For more information on Moving Ahead Communications and
their fundraising opportunities, contact them at 3288 Darby
Glen Blvd, Hilliard, Ohio 43026 ; call: (614) 529-9459.
Visit them online and sign up for their complimentary newsletter
at: http://movingaheadcommunications.com
Free Fun Stuff!
Internet visitors can head to the Samaritan’s Purse website
and download lots of fun stuff. There are coloring pages
for children, an assortment of clip art and more.
For more information and to download items, contact
Samaritan's Purse/Operation Christmas Child, 801 Bamboo
Road, Boone, NC 28607 ; call (800)353-5949 and visit them
online at: http://www.samaritanspurse.org
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This is brought to you by the Ohio Help Group, working in
conjunction with Moving Ahead Communications to help
companies and individuals with their business services
worldwide. Check out their complimentary ezines and
downloads, informative blogs and more at their Online
Service Center at: http://wwwOhioHelpGroup.com
