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Operation Christmas Child to start Nov. 16

By Chad Garland
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In just over a week, drop-off locations will open in Burbank and Glendale for those looking to participate in what’s being billed by organizers as the “world’s largest Christmas project of its kind.”

Operation Christmas Child will run its national collection drive from Nov. 16 to 23, accepting shoe boxes packed with toys, school supplies, notes of encouragement and other items at two locations in Burbank, two in Glendale and one in La Crescenta. The shoe boxes will be shipped to children overseas.

The annual project of the evangelical Christian nonprofit Samaritan’s Purse has a goal this year of reaching 11 million children in need worldwide.

Franklin Graham, the eldest son of Billy and Ruth Bell Graham, is president and chief executive of Samaritan’s Purse, which distributed nearly 10 million shoe boxes in 2013, according to tax filings.

Organizers in the Burbank area hope to collect 6,300 shoe boxes. The area collection points in Burbank are the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 542 N. Buena Vista St., and South Hills Church, 222 S. Victory Blvd.

In Glendale, donors can contribute at the Karamian residence, 420 Palm Drive, and Glendale Community Church of God, 545 W. California Ave. First Baptist Church at La Crescenta, 4441 La Crescenta Ave., will also be a collection point.

Hours at each location vary and are subject to change. A full list of area collection locations can be found online at samaritanspurse.org/occ.

Donors can also get information about suggested gift items, “pack” a personalized shoe box and track it to its recipient on the website.

For more information about how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call (818) 297-7132.

Chad Garland

Chad Garland covered the city of Burbank and Bob Hope Airport for the Burbank Leader until 2016. Previously, he has covered Arizona’s congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., for Cronkite News Service and Oregon’s Legislature for the Associated Press. His work investigating questionable veterans’ charities as part of the award-winning News21 national investigative project “Back Home” earned a “Best in Business” award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in 2013. Before becoming a reporter, he spent more than a decade in various assignments related to national defense. An Illinois native, his first California address was at Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego. He has degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Arizona State University, as well as a diploma from the Army’s Defense Language Institute in Monterey, where he learned to speak Russian.

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