by Debbie Vanaman
When all was said and done, our relay center had a record year. With the state of the economy here in Southern West Virginia, I expected our numbers to be somewhat down from last year’s total of 2,958 which incidentally was all-time high for our relay. Well, that was so not true. The total number of shoeboxes collected from churches, schools, businesses and individuals was 3,103 shoeboxes!
Yep, that’s right. It was up, and up quite a bit. But it would not run as smoothly as it did without the help of a great group of volunteers who manned “Shoebox Center” in the Welcome Center that week. You guys and gals were great. And let’s not forget the Saturday morning loading crew who loaded 185 cartons in under an hour. A truly awesome task.
As the time creeps ever closer to Christmas Day, just remember children around the world who during the coming months will receive a shoebox filled with a toy or a stuffed animal, pencils, crayons and other personal items. Some of these children have never received a gift before and imagine the looks on their faces when those boxes are opened and these items are shared. They also will receive a booklet called “The Greatest Journey” which tells them about Jesus and how they can accept Jesus into their heart.
Just remember – it all starts with one shoebox and you can help change the world one shoebox at a time. Stay tuned for some shoebox changes in 2016.