Learn more about Operation Christmas Child at
www.samaritanspurse.org
BRUSH PRAIRIE — The boxes full of toys, school supplies and candy began to stack up in Sierra Swearingen’s Battle Ground home: first in her parents’ room, then her own.
By Sunday, the 15-year-old had accumulated 300 of the boxes, and it would take two vehicles to bring them to their next destination: Glenwood Community Church in the Brush Prairie area. Eventually, each shoebox-size Christmas package will make its way to an underprivileged child in another part of the world through an effort called Operation Christmas Child.
“Wow, kiddo,” volunteer Marlene Horch told Sierra as the girl and her family unloaded the boxes Sunday afternoon at the church. Hot Wheels, coloring books, head bands, stuffed animals, pencil sharpeners, water bottles and toothpaste were visible in the clear-plastic tubs, which also could be reused by the children receiving them, volunteers pointed out.
Sierra, who is home-schooled, said her family has been donating boxes since she was 3, but they usually only donated a few each year. The giving took off in 2011, when Sierra and her older brother Marshall started brainstorming ways to help others.
“We wanted to do something,” she said. The kids found a tin and decorated it; then they slowly started filling the container with money — spare change, or cash they received for birthdays or holidays.
Sierra used her money to put together 12 boxes for Operation Christmas Child that year. In 2012, the number of boxes she donated rose to 60. Last year, she dropped off 260 boxes.
“In the past years, I’ve really expanded on the amount,” Sierra said. “I just always thought it was a cool thing to do.”
To stretch her dollar, Sierra said she uses coupons, hits sales and accepts donations from friends.
“I find this to be a lot more fun than buying something for myself,” she said. “I love to add candy. Hopefully, everybody loves candy.”
Her volunteerism has gained her some attention in her hometown. She was nominated for Battle Ground’s Citizen of the Year award last year, though the award was given to someone else.
Sierra also traveled to California last year to help process Operation Christmas Child boxes for shipment. Each box is inspected, and volunteers remove perishable or breakable items before the packages are sent overseas. Items that wouldn’t be accepted in other countries are saved and donated to charitable groups in the U.S.
The holiday gift packages are tracked with a bar code that allows donors to see where their presents end up. In past years, Sierra’s gift boxes have gone to the Philippines, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia and Panama.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without help,” Sierra said, crediting God and longtime Operation Christmas Child volunteers Marlene and Ron Horch.
Operation Christmas Child is run by Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian ministry group. Since the organization began distributing gifts in 1993, more than 113 million Christmas shoeboxes have been delivered to children in more than 130 countries, Ron said. People in the U.S., Austria, Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Spain, Japan and the United Kingdom all donate gift boxes to the cause.
The Glenwood drop-off location collected 4,893 boxes during this year’s donation week, Nov. 17-23, Marlene said. The boxes are delivered along with Christian literature, which tells the children about God’s love and “the true meaning of Christmas,” she added.
“It lets the children know that somebody cares on the other side of the world,” Marlene said.
