Operation Christmas Child Collection at Reformed Church

MIDDLEBURGH - Volunteers at the Reformed Church in Middleburgh were busy in November boxing up toys and gifts for needy children throughout the world for the Operation Christmas Child program. 

Middleburgh Reformed Church served as an Operation Christmas Child (OCC) shoebox drop-off site during the week of November 18.  It was staffed by volunteers from several area churches.  OCC is a project of Samaritan's Purse, an international relief organization.  Church groups, community organizations, and individuals fill shoeboxes with toys, school supplies, hygiene items, and clothing to be distributed to children in more than 150 countries.  Each shoebox is meant to be a tangible representation of God's love to the child who receives it.

More than 2,000 shoeboxes were collected in Middleburgh.  They were transported to a central drop-off site in Latham where they were loaded onto a tractor trailer.  The journey continued on to a processing center in Baltimore where each shoebox is inspected and prepared for shipping.