Samaritan’s Purse is an nondenominational Christian international relief organization. One of the biggest projects Samaritan’s Purse takes on in is Operation Christmas Child (OCC). “Their mission is to share the love of Jesus with the children of the world one box at a time,” says Mrs. Carpenter, the OCC Leader at Padua Academy.  People in OCC provide relief and ship simple gifts to children all over the world who are  affected by war, poverty, natural disaster, famine and disease. The simple gifts that could be given to a child are small toys, hygiene items, and school supplies. Donations are put into a shoebox to be sent out to Samaritan’s Purse, and where they check the packages to make sure they are safe to be sent out.

Mrs. Carpenter organized an Operation Christmas Child club when she began teaching at Padua. She decided to start this club because she has been packing boxes with her family for years. Before Mrs. Carpenter moved to Delaware, she was an advisor for the Christian Fellowship Club at her school back in Pittsburgh. She had been packing boxes for OCC and praying for the children that would receive them. It was something Mrs. Carpenter loved so much that she decided to continue it here at Padua.  

National Collection Week began November 13th and goes through the 20th. Many items have been donated to fill the shoeboxes, and Mrs. Carpenter and Operation Christmas Child club members have been working extremely hard to fill boxes and get everything together. Mrs. Carpenter says, “Our goal as a group of young women at Padua Academy is to engage our hearts, minds, and hands in this greater good.” There are collections set up in the beginning of the school year for students and teachers to donate supplies to be put in the shoeboxes. Students in the Operation Christmas Child club hand make things like jump ropes, donate money for shipping cost, and donate items that would make a big difference to people around the world. They can also donate to Feeding Westchester for people in need.

For more information visit www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/