Stacks of

heavy shoe boxes wrapped in festive Christmas paper are

becoming a common sight in church halls around Fayette

County.

At least

six congregations are participating in this year's

Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan's

Purse, the international Christian relief organization

headed by Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy

Graham.

"Everybody

loves to give," said Wilma McCann of New Hope

Baptist Church. "It's been wonderful to see how the

project has grown," she added. Last year, more than

1.3 million shoe boxes filled with small toys, articles

of clothing and toiletries were collected across the

United States and distributed to children around the

world affected by poverty, war and natural disasters.

Projections for this year's effort will be 3 million shoe

boxes collected from volunteers in the United States, the

United Kingdom and Canada, delivered to children in 55

countries, including about 400,000 children affected by

the war in Kosovo.

Churches

such as New Hope Baptist and Prince of Peace Lutheran,

both in Fayetteville, solicit boxes from their entire

congregations, while others like Holy Trinity Catholic

Church in Peachtree City involve the children in the

religious education classes. Last year, the children

filled more than 700 boxes with everything from Barbie

dolls to bandages.

"A lot

of times, it's the only gift they'll get in their

lifetime," McCann noted, after seeing pictures of

some of the recipients who even saved the wrapping paper

from their boxes. "It's a real treasure," she

added.

Doris

Hughes of Prince of Peace said the call for filled shoe

boxes went out in their church bulletin. "We've done

it for four years," she explained. "It's such a

fun project." Hughes has had several boxes ready to

go since the summer, when she and her grandchildren took

them on as a multigenerational project. Students from

Fayette County High School also are lending a hand and

delivering their packages to Prince of Peace.

Once the

boxes are collected locally, they will be taken to the

Atlanta Processing Center in Norcross where they will be

checked for any items that are inappropriate such as

liquid shampoo, chocolate that can melt, and war toys. A

small gospel story book, "The Greatest Gift of

All," which introduces Jesus, will then be placed in

the boxes. They are then shipped in cargo planes to

London where they are directed to specific countries.

Most

children who help fill a shoe box like the idea of

selecting the age and sex of the recipient closest to

their own age. The categories are ages 2-4, 5-9 and

10-14. A small photo and a personal message from the

giver is often included.

According

to McCann, the cost of shipping a box is about $5, which

is requested as a love offering to help defray expenses,

but there are a number of groups that donate money to

help send the gifts on their way.

This year,

Roadway Trucking is a major player in the Operation

Christmas Child project.

Volunteers

are needed to work at the processing center in Norcross

Nov. 20 through Dec. 20. The center will be open Monday

through Saturday and persons wishing to help can give

four hours in one of three shifts: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1 -

5 p.m. and 5 - 9 p.m. To volunteer call David Swicegood

at 770-690-9640 or Laura McCraw at 770-225-6059.