Operation Christmas Child Collects Over 10 Million Shoebox Gifts Across US in 2024

It was another successful year for Operation Christmas Child, the nationwide effort that helps children in need through shoebox gifts. Lakeland News profiled the effort in the Brainerd Lakes Area this past holiday season.

According to officials with Samaritan’s Purse, 10.5 million shoebox gifts were collected throughout the United States in 2024. Combined with those collected from partnering countries in 2024, the ministry is now sending over 11.9 million shoebox gifts to children worldwide.

A press release from the program says that for many children, this is the first gift they have ever received.

Although local Brainerd drop-off locations for shoebox gifts are closed until November of next year, anyone can still be a part of the project by packing a shoebox gift online at the Samaritan’s Purse website. Organizers say these gifts remind children around the world that they are loved and not forgotten.