Inspire, Fall/Winter 2009

my cedarv i l le 14 FALL/WINTER 2009 Once the shoeboxes are dropped off at the collection center, more than 50,000 volunteers across America pack them into bigger boxes and load them onto semitrucks. Then everyone gathers around and prays for the gifts to get where they need to go and, most importantly, for the children who will receive them. The boxes then make their way to one of the six OCC processing centers across America. Joey and the crew followed a truck headed to a center in Charlotte, North Carolina, where his box had been taken for the next phase of its trip. “For one week in November,” he said, “thousands of volunteers from all over come to inspect every item and repair any damage. They also remove the shipping payment included in each shoebox, approve the boxes, and assign destinations.” The boxes are, once again, loaded in trucks, which are driven onto freighters that will deliver them to countries all over the world. Joey’s box traveled to Quito, Ecuador … and so did he. Once in Ecuador, the film team spent three nights in a neighboring village, where they distributed boxes and met with the country’s national leadership team — a combination of area pastors and missionaries, all of whom volunteer their time. Step 2 It all starts with shopping at various stores, packing the box with everything from teddy bears to toothbrushes, and adding money for shipping costs. Joey chose to send his box to a young boy between the ages of 5 and 9. He then thought about what special items he would have wanted when he was that age and purchased them for the child, not yet knowing where the box would arrive or who would receive it. Every year, this step in the OCC process proves to be a memorable community- building activity as families, friends, Bible study groups, and classrooms work together to select the items and wrap the boxes. To add a personal touch, some even include a photo or handwritten note. Then it’s time to drop the box off at a local collection center. This might be the last step for your part of the story. But for the shoebox, the journey has just begun! Step 1