St. Paul School marks 10 years of Christmas smiles
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
By Christina Leslie | Correspondent
This Christmas, the children of St. Paul School, Princeton, once again are proving good things truly do come in small packages. For the 10th year, the second and fifth grade classes in the Mercer County Catholic school are participating in “Operation Christmas Child”, an international outreach program which matches children in need with gaily decorated shoeboxes filled with miniature toys, gifts and toiletries. Under the guidance of fifth grade teachers Anne Britschge and Rich Langlois and second grade instructors Amy DeLorenzo and John Finnegan, the 75 students watched a video explaining the program, then planned which small items might be appreciated by their friends in other lands. A week later, the students met again to nestle the purchased and donated items into about 50 personalized shoeboxes for shipment.
“The children will bring in items like toothpaste, tooth brushes, small toys and stuffed animals, paper, crayons and markers,” Britschge explained. “They also will fill out a paper about themselves and/or make a card to include, [and] some children like to include a picture of themselves in the box.”
Since its inception in 1993, more than 100 million children have been recipients of simple shoebox gifts from Operation Christmas Child, a program headquartered in Boone, N.C. The effort, coordinated through the nondenominational Christian international relief organization Samaritan’s Purse, provides aid to people in need worldwide.
Shoebox gifts are obtained from donors throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia with more than 500,000 volunteers from local churches and ministry partners worldwide helping with their collection, shipping, and distribution. During the course of their decade of service, St. Paul School has received acknowledgements for their shoebox gifts from many parts of the world including Peru, Ecuador and Uganda.
“It’s a fun project that helps the children get ready for the Advent and Christmas seasons by concentrating on helping others who aren’t as fortunate as they are,” Britschge maintained.
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By Christina Leslie | Correspondent
This Christmas, the children of St. Paul School, Princeton, once again are proving good things truly do come in small packages. For the 10th year, the second and fifth grade classes in the Mercer County Catholic school are participating in “Operation Christmas Child”, an international outreach program which matches children in need with gaily decorated shoeboxes filled with miniature toys, gifts and toiletries. Under the guidance of fifth grade teachers Anne Britschge and Rich Langlois and second grade instructors Amy DeLorenzo and John Finnegan, the 75 students watched a video explaining the program, then planned which small items might be appreciated by their friends in other lands. A week later, the students met again to nestle the purchased and donated items into about 50 personalized shoeboxes for shipment.
“The children will bring in items like toothpaste, tooth brushes, small toys and stuffed animals, paper, crayons and markers,” Britschge explained. “They also will fill out a paper about themselves and/or make a card to include, [and] some children like to include a picture of themselves in the box.”
Since its inception in 1993, more than 100 million children have been recipients of simple shoebox gifts from Operation Christmas Child, a program headquartered in Boone, N.C. The effort, coordinated through the nondenominational Christian international relief organization Samaritan’s Purse, provides aid to people in need worldwide.
Shoebox gifts are obtained from donors throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia with more than 500,000 volunteers from local churches and ministry partners worldwide helping with their collection, shipping, and distribution. During the course of their decade of service, St. Paul School has received acknowledgements for their shoebox gifts from many parts of the world including Peru, Ecuador and Uganda.
“It’s a fun project that helps the children get ready for the Advent and Christmas seasons by concentrating on helping others who aren’t as fortunate as they are,” Britschge maintained.