Kids Give Gifts to Youths in War Zone

The season of giving came early to Christina Young’s classroom at Justice Street School.

For much of Thursday, students in Young’s class of third-, fourth- and fifth-graders filled shoe boxes with small gifts and penned letters to impoverished children in Bosnia, Croatia and other war-torn countries in Eastern Europe.

The students’ project is part of a good Samaritan drive by a North Carolina organization that will send tens of thousands of boxes to poor children around the world.

This is the first year that the organization, Samaritan’s Purse, has run the project, called Operation Christmas Child.

“The kids there have nothing for Christmas like we do,” said fifth-grader Frank Maccarone, 10. “They should get something.”

Frank and his classmates stuffed the boxes with everything from socks and T-shirts to yo-yos, markers and pictures of themselves. Many of the students hope the recipients of their gift boxes will also become pen pals.

“It would be nice to be able to talk to someone from over there and find out what it’s really like there and stuff. Like if it’s really like the video we saw,” said Kyle Hanagami, also 10.

Although Young’s class helps impoverished people during the holiday season, this is the first time the students have done something for others their age.

“I think seeing kids their own age either with AIDS or hit by a bullet was very intense for them,” Young said. “It teaches them to thank their blessings.”