Operation Christmas Child accepting donations

Oct. 30—Operation Christmas Child will soon begin its National Collection Week, with more than 4,500 drop-off sites open Nov. 13 to 20.

The program is run by Samaritan's Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization.

In Operation Christmas Child, empty shoeboxes are filled with school supplies, hygiene items and toys.

People interested in the Operation Christmas Child project can pack shoebox-sized boxes with school supplies, hygiene items and toys and take them to a drop-off location.

Participating churches can be contacted for specific drop-off times.

North country drop-offs:

— Adams Center: Grace Community Church, 17784 Michaels Road

— Boonville: Boonville United Methodist Church, 105 Ann St.

— Castorland: Naumburg Mennonite Church, 5463 State Route 410

— Malone: Shiloh Baptist Church, 217 Webster St.

— Ogdensburg: New Life Assembly of God, 929 Park St.

— Oswego: New Covenant Community Church, 51 E. Oneida St.

— Pulaski: Calvary Baptist Church, 5353 Route 11

— Sandy Creek: Sandy Creek Bible Church, 1984 Harwood Drive

— Saranac Lake: High Peaks Church, 97 Will Rogers Drive

— Watertown: Life Church of the Nazarene, 535 Thompson Boulevard

— Winthrop: Victory Baptist Church, 601 State Highway 11C

People interested in the Operation Christmas Child project can pack shoebox-sized boxes with school supplies, hygiene items and toys and take them to a drop-off location. Participating churches can be contacted for specific drop-off times.

The Operation Christmas Child/Samaritan Purse website — samaritanspurse.org — has tips on how to pack a shoebox. The site also offers an option of building a shoebox online. The gifts will reach children throughout the world.