Operation Christmas Child 2019

It’s that time of year again! Boardwalk Associates and Residents have been packing Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes for years, a holiday tradition everyone continues to look forward to. The nation-wide initiative is run by Samaritan’s Purse and is one of the world’s largest Christmas outreach programs of its kind.   

Every November, thousands of shoeboxes are filled with necessities and goodies, then shipped to a country where they’re given to a child in need. Items gifted in the shoeboxes include hygiene items, toys, school supplies and more. Boardwalk supports the annual initiative by covering the $10 shipping fee for each shoebox packed by a Resident or Associate.

Let’s take a look at how our teams helped out across Canada this year!

Boardwalk’s Capital and Design Team raised a total of $3,545 for Operation Christmas Child, packing a total of 102 shoeboxes.

“What a blessing this will be for the children on Christmas day to have some tangible gifts to bright their day!”, said Jeff Brown, Director of Community Design.

The Procurement Team also got together and packed some shoeboxes for the fundraising initiative.

Boardwalk’s Edmonton teams had so much fun putting together shoeboxes full of goodies for Operation Christmas Child. Residents and Associates put a lot of thought into the items they wanted to pack.

Everything from toothbrushes, toys, stickers, socks, sewing kits and water bottles were thoughtfully donated and packed into their boxes. Some of our communities, including Boardwalk Centre, even put together a chili sale to raise money so they could fill as many boxes as possible.

In London, Ontario, Boardwalk Associate, Mark and his wife, Jenn, have been packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child for over eight years. This year, they packed a total of 1,319 shoeboxes with the help of 80 volunteers. Check out our article on Mark and Jenn’s packing party to find out more.

Some Boardwalk Associates like Cher and Anne Marie packed shoeboxes on their own, or with the help of their family.

“I love doing it, I look forward to it every year. I am hoping my little girl might be able to have access to a computer one day to email me.” says Anne Marie, a Boardwalk Associate.

Residents from Complexe Deguire packed 21 shoeboxes for children in need.

Senior Residents at Le Quatre Cent organized a bingo event to raise funds for Operation Christmas Child. An amount of $365 was collected from Residents. Afterward, the Boardwalk team bought gifts for the children and together made 27 boxes.

Together, our Boardwalk Associates and Residents collected a total of 2,408 shoeboxes.

On behalf of the entire Boardwalk Family, we would like to express a heartfelt thank you to all those who volunteered and donated to Operation Christmas Child this year. We hope to see you all again next year!