LWC, Campbellsville Freshmen Bring Christmas Cheer Children in Developing Countries

Members of LWC, Campbellsville (Ky.) University and Columbia Baptist Church gather
in the LWC Roberta D. Cranmer Dining & Conference Center to celebrate the successful
completion of the effort that raised money and supplies to fill 2,031 shoebox-size
containers for Operation Christmas Child.

COLUMBIA, Ky. -- Students at Lindsey Wilson College and Campbellsville (Ky.) University came together this semester to bring Christmas to more than 2,000 children in the Dominican Republic and nine Sub-Saharan African nations.

The freshmen collected 2,031 shoebox-size containers for Operation Christmas Child, an international aid agency that sends toys, school supplies and personal hygiene items to disadvantaged children in developing countries.

This year's theme of the two schools' campaign is "Operation Together for God's Glory -- Lindsey Wilson College and Campbellsville University." Members of Columbia Baptist Church coordinated the campaign.

The two schools' students aimed to raise enough money and collect enough supplied to fill 2,011 containers. In addition to the items for the 2,031 containers, they also raised $14,975.50 to cover the postage. It costs about $7 to send each container.

From Southcentral Kentucky, the containers will be sent to the Kentucky Operation Christmas Child location in Danville before being sent to Boone, N.C. From there, the boxers will be sent to the Dominican Republic and the Sub-Saharan African nations Angola, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and South Africa.

Operation Christmas Child is coordinated by Samaritan's Purse, a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization that provides spiritual and physical aid to people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan's Purse has helped worked with victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease and famine.