ID 166111558 © Silva Dziedataja | Dreamstime.com

By rdnewsNOW staff

Nov. 17-23, 2025

National collection week in November for Operation Christmas Child shoebox program

Oct 23, 2025 | 1:54 PM

Canada’s 2025 Operation Christmas Child shoebox collection season is now underway.

Officials say individuals, families, churches, businesses, sports teams, and community groups are now packing shoeboxes with toys, school supplies, and hygiene items, plus personal notes and photos, to be delivered to children in need around the world.

Operation Christmas Child is an annual initiative of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief organization that works in more than 100 countries. Last year, Canadians are said to have filled more than 436,000 shoeboxes with gifts that shared God’s love and hope with struggling children in West Africa, Central America, Ukraine and Philippines. In a world weighed down with inflation, political turmoil and the effects of war, officials say children need joy more than ever.

Thanks to the items Canadians lovingly put in their shoeboxes, and the $12-per-box they donate to cover shipping and other program costs, Samaritan’s Purse says it is able to deliver the boxes to children around the world living in the midst of poverty, disease, war, and natural disaster.

Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child says it has collected and distributed more than 232 million shoebox gifts in more than 130 countries.

Nighttime construction on Hwy 3 in Lethbridge starts April 17

Apr 17, 2025

SASHA launches #BuyABed fundraiser to support vulnerable Lethbridge residents

Apr 04, 2025

$20K grants available: TELUS STORYHIVE Pan-Asian Edition opens applications April 1

Mar 18, 2025

“Struggling children and families need hope,” said Kendra Shields, director of Operation Christmas Child, in a press release. “This is the essence of Operation Christmas Child. Every shoebox gift is an opportunity for a child to learn that he or she matters to Canadians and, most importantly, matters to God. That’s why I want everyone to help as many children in need as possible by packing shoeboxes.”

National Shoebox Collection Week is Nov. 17-23: Officials say each gift-filled shoebox packed, donated, and delivered to one of hundreds of drop-off locations throughout Canada by Nov. 18 will make a long journey into the arms of a child in need. Canadians can also pack boxes online at PackABox.ca.

Canadians who pack their shoeboxes online and make the suggested $12-per-box donation, can now ‘follow their box’. After their boxes have shipped around the globe, officials say they will receive an email sharing its destination country.