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One item can make all the difference

It doesn’t take much to make a positive impact in a person’s life. If you have any doubt this is true, all one has to do is take a look at the Operation Christmas Child program run by Samaritan’s Purse.

It doesn’t take much to make a positive impact in a person’s life.

If you have any doubt this is true, all one has to do is take a look at the Operation Christmas Child program run by Samaritan’s Purse.

For the price of putting a few simple items in a shoebox (plus a few dollars for shipping), a person can literally change the course of a young person’s life.

This week in the Leader, you will read how a shoebox and a gift of a pair of pants allowed a young girl to attend school.

Derra Mantey, who has been involved with Barrhead’s Operation Christmas Child effort for many years, has many stories of how one box can impact multiple children’s lives.

Often what happens when children of a particular area receive their boxes, items are traded amongst each other for maximum benefit, just like school lunches.

Sometimes the lack of one item as simple as a pencil or notepad is all that stands between a child and getting an education.

Most of us in the Western world haven’t been touched by the kind of extreme poverty that Operation Christmas Child seeks to combat.

Yes, Canada is not immune to poverty. One doesn’t have to look very hard, even in our own community, to find people who do not know where their next meal is coming, or do not have a roof over their heads.

As a child from a single-parent household, I have been the beneficiary of programs, like the food bank and Christmas hampers.

I remember how thrilled I was a young child when, on occasion, I would receive toys from my uncle, who worked as a car detailer and would pass along the used toys he would find hidden in the various crevices of vehicles.

Perhaps that is why I am a big supporter of Operation Christmas Child.

Every year my wife and I pick up a box from a local retailer and stuff it full of items, which hopefully some child will find not only useful, but will help bring a little joy into their lives

If we are lucky, we are able to make a day out of it and go on a specific shopping trip just to fill our shoebox.

Unfortunately in the last couple of years, our schedules (mostly mine) have not permitted these trips, but somehow or another, we always make sure our shoebox is filled and I encourage others to do so as well.

I know these days there are no shortage of worthy causes to donate to, and I understand if people are not able to make a shoebox.

But if you can, please do so, as it will make a difference.


Barry Kerton

About the Author: Barry Kerton

Barry Kerton is the managing editor of the Barrhead Leader, joining the paper in 2014. He covers news, municipal politics and sports.
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