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This month, Midway Baptist Church will serve as a new drop-off location for the Samaritan’s Purse project, Operation Christmas Child—joining nearly 5,000 U.S. locations collecting shoebox gifts for children in need around the world. Midway will join our long-standing partner, Carr’s Chapel Missionary Baptist Church of Speedwell, to give Claiborne County residents two convenient locations to drop off shoebox gifts.

During the project’s National Collection Week, Nov. 12-19, Claiborne County residents will transform empty shoeboxes into gifts of hope filled with fun toys, school supplies and hygiene items. After being dropped off, Operation Christmas Child will deliver these shoebox gifts to children living in poverty overseas. For many of these children, it will be the first gift they have ever received.

“Through Operation Christmas Child, Claiborne County has a unique opportunity to change the life of a child through a simple gift of a shoebox – providing the child joy, and most importantly, presenting them the way to salvation. It can truly be a life changing event for every child that receives a shoebox,” said Amie Winstead of Maynardville. Winstead serves as the Area Coordinator, managing a team of volunteers from Claiborne, Campbell, Union and Scott Counties, which aims to collect 10,300 shoebox gifts for the area team. These shoeboxes will contribute toward the 2018 global goal of reaching 11 million children in need.

Midway Baptist Church

905 Yoakum Avenue

New Tazewell, TN 37825

OPERATING HOURS:

Monday, Nov. 12, 4 pm to 6 pm

Tuesday, Nov. 13, 4 pm to 6 pm

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 5 pm to 7 pm

Thursday, Nov. 15, 9 am to 11 am

Friday, Nov. 16, 5 pm to 7 pm

Saturday, Nov. 17, 10 am to 12 pm

Sunday, Nov. 18, 4 pm to 6 pm

Monday, Nov. 19, 1 pm to 3 pm

Carr’s Chapel Missionary Baptist Church

5751 Hwy. 63

Speedwell, TN 37870

OPERATING HOURS:

Monday, Nov. 12, 5 pm to 8 pm

Tuesday, Nov. 13, 5 pm to 8 pm

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 5 pm to 8 pm

Thursday, Nov. 15, 5 pm to 8 pm

Friday, Nov. 16, 5 pm to 8 pm

Saturday, Nov. 17, 1 pm to 4 pm

Sunday, Nov. 18, 12 pm to 2 pm

Monday, Nov. 19, 6 am to 8 am

Participants can donate $9 per shoebox gift online through “Follow Your Box” and receive a tracking label to discover its destination. Those who prefer the convenience of online shopping can browse samaritanspurse.org/buildonline to select gifts matched to a child’s specific age and gender, then finish packing the virtual shoebox by adding a photo and personal note of encouragement.

Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham. The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world and, together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 146 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 160 countries and territories.

For more information, contact Amie Winstead, area coordinator, at: 865-742-9701 or awinstead.occ@aol.com.