Drop off day!

Today is the day, we say good by to all our boxes. 
All the fun we've had shopping all year, remembering the amazing deals God has placed in our path, and carefully putting together each box,  knowing that each box is going to a special boy or girl!

As I headed towards town on the bumpy gravel road I heard the maracas shaking, making music.  And it brought a smile to my face.  I wonder how the children will react to everything placed in their boxes. What is the one item they have been praying for? How will they be changed? And their family and their community?  What an amazing opportunity, a box wrapped in love and covered in prayer, can be.    What an honour it is be able to pack boxes, and give them away.

My mom and I had a car full this morning and we went to our neighbouring community to drop them off at the collection site.  And as we dropped them off, we met more wonderful OCC volunteers who graciously came to open the door, as I hadn't checked the hours of drop off. (oops!)

This evening our family will go to our church, along with other children and their families and help us bring all 350 boxes to the tree lighting ceremony. I am excited to see the joy in our Sunday School children's faces as they proudly bring their boxes away. 

And then we pray God's hand of protection over them as they travel from Manitoba to Alberta and then overseas. We pray that every box will hold at least one very special item for the child.  And that eternity will be changed forever!

Thank you to all the OCC volunteers who work tirelessly to make this all possible!

And all Glory and Honor Goes to God.

Looney Tunes 10-14 Boys Box

Michaels was clearing out Looney Tunes paper, stickers, pens, erasers, pencils at 80% off.  So this boy will get to enjoy it.  I also added a chess game, geometry set, pencil case.wash cloth, notebook, candy, soap, toothbrush, ball, sissor, car and shirt.

What are your favorite things to add to a 10-14 boys box?

Pack a Theme Box

Diego Theme Box

I picked up some Diego pencils on clearance. And then found a few other things, including a Diego book and some animals to add to my box.  I also included paper, a reusable bag, crayons, pencil case with pencils, pens, eraser, pencil sharpener, underwear, t-shirt, stuffed animal, toothbrush from the dentist, car, ball, animals, sandals, soap, wash cloth, and little frisbee.

Meet Zoe.

Zoe is 10 years old. And she is doing great things!! Her family has packed a box or two for about 10 years. Last year Zoe packed three and pestered her mom to pack more. That was when her mom started doing some research and found  links enabling her to pack more on a budget.

Here is what her mom writes...
She gets excited about everything little thing we find, it is hard to tell what her favorites are. We found some really cute Christmas necklaces last January at 7-Eleven for about 25cents and she was so excited. At back to school time, I could hardly get her out of the school supplies as she looked for stuff for boxes, not herself! She has been in at least 5 stores scoping out the best deal on pencil sharpeners and can hardly stand still long enough to tell me when she's found the 'best deal'! Even combs, I bought packs of 12 combs at Walmart and she had them all laid out on the floor so she could decide which was better for boys vs girls and younger vs older. (Less than 25cents each is a great deal. I will argue that packing lots of boxes is cheaper than packing only a couple!) Giving the smallest thing thrills her.
She had big rubbermaid containers in her bedroom closet with all the OCC shoe box stuff in them. And regularily through out the year I would find her sitting on her bedroom floor going through everything and organizing it. This is absolutely something she loves!

Here are a few pictures of the boxes that she has packed.

And this isn't her only generous gift! For her 9th birthday she asked for money instead of gifts to give to an orphanage in Cambodia. She raised $316 for them! :) She has already decided she is doing that again next year.

Great job Zoe!! We look forward to hearing from you in the future.

I know I love hearing from other fellow OCCers.  And I'd love to hear from you! 

Done

I can finally say I am done and ready for collection week!

Tonight my 6 year old son and I added the final items to each box; candy, a note and a picture. It was great to open each box one last time, and pray for each child receiving the box. And since I had the boxes open I (finally) took a few pictures of some of the boxes, which I will share over the next few days.

I was thankful my son was helping me.  Thankful that we can do this together. I loved his prespective. I loved how with each box, my son said oh they are going to be so blessed with ________. The cute brown dog stuffed animal, or the red car.   Something different caught his eye in every box.  And it made me wonder what will be the item for the precious child receiving the box. 

Here is one of my favorite boxes.  I love how God placed strawberry shortcake items in my path through out the year.  And I ended up with this great box.  It's hard to see but the headbands has strawberries on it too!

Do you have a favorite box you packed this year?

Why not post pictures on our facebook page.  We'd love to see it!

Packing Tip

Next week is Collection Week!

Time to Pack Your Boxes!

When packing shoes and water bottles, they can take up a lot of valuable space. Why not fill them with other items, enabling you to pack more in your boxes!

Val

Through OCC I have met a lot of amazing, inspiring people!

I was recently introduced to Val.  She is doing amazing things in her 900 square foot home in Ottawa Ontario.  Here is her story...

I have been packing boxes for 14 years. I saw the video at my church and did 2 that year!! Having gone on a mission trip with OCC and saw the great need I feel God touched my heart to do more boxes!! I have filled over 12000 since I started I am 69 years old and work full time just to pay for the boxes. I shop for bargains all the time. After every occasion I check to see how much is left at 50 per cent off if they have a lot I wait till its 75 per cent off if not I will buy. I never pay full price.
I never pay full price. I always put school supplies in for the older children I always give soap, hard candy toys hair stuff coloring book crayons stuffed animal puppets hats sunglasses whistles puzzles t-shirt socks underwear cars dolls jewelry marbles beads toy animals play dough yoyo I like to give a good variety of things I want the!m to see their box and say wow somebody sure loves me!

 I have a senior friend(older than me) that knits and crochets the blankets (pictured above) for me I just give her the wool and she does the rest. What a blessing she is!!! I pack the boxes starting as soon as they leave in November. It is very time consuming as we pray for each box as we do I work on them every day. It gets a little crowded in my home at this time of year,as our home is only 900 sq ft. Our basement is quite full right now. 

They made this video a few years ago, called Emily's Hope.

Thank you Val for sharing your story, and more importantly spending your time, energy and resources spreading God's love!

What an amazing morning!! Despite freezing rain and a bit of snow this weekend, the huge storm they predicted didn't happen. The roads weren't great but most of our Sunday School Kids were able to make it out. We were aiming for 250 boxes and God multiplied and we packed 350 boxes! How Great is our God! A longer blog post will follow later this week, once I get pictures back from our photographer.

Add a note and picture

It is a great to include a personal note and picture. 

It is fun to write to the child, telling them a bit about you and your family, how special they are and how God loves them.  And don't forget to add a picture of yourself/family.

If you have kids you can download the About Me papers from here. And have them fill out the paper and there is a spot for a picture on the paper.

If you are packing a lot of boxes, or are just running out of time.

You can always combine the two.

Here is the card that we are adding to our boxes.

This one could be used for either gender.

And this one for the girls.

You can find the cards here.

Favorite Stores

Do you have regular stores that you visit to buy your OCC items?
Here are a few of mine.

Michaels-
They always have great items for $1.50-$2.00 and if you hit the right time, you can find great clearance items up to 80% off.
I was there on Saturday and they had tons of items that would make great theme boxes, Hello Kity, Mickey Mouse, pencils, erasers, notebooks, crayons, etc.
You can also sign up for their email coupons.   They often have 50% off one item.

Dollar Stores
Great for pretty much all items you can think of putting into a box.
Hygiene, School Supplies, Toys, Stuffed Animals, etc.

Party Stores
Again great items if you're going to do theme boxes or just want to add something extra special
They often have packs of items, making them less expensive.

Box Stores- Superstore, Walmart
Great end of season clearance on clothing and toys.
School supplies in August. (often they are cheaper than the dollar store at this time of year)
And Candy after halloween.

Old Navy-
The odd time you can find clear out clothing for .97 cents. ( my mom is great at finding these.  You just need to take time to search)
And the .25 cent balls from the ball vending machine.  One of my favorite buys!

Do you have favorite stores that you like to check in on to pick up supplies?

Thanks to Gina for posting this...
We found a great deal @ Ardene's. Surprise bags are 2 for $5. They contain hair accessories and jewelery, etc. Got tonnes of great stuff for girls in each one!

If you are looking for girls 10-14 sandals, they have 5 pairs for $10.00. They had a lot of selection!

Anyone have any other deals they've found?

Multiple Monday-Clothes Line and Bungee Cords

 I love giving variety in my boxes! I found rope at dollarama and with my dad's help we were able to divide it between 4 boxes. It was alot of rope for $1.00! We walked around the house, well the middle part, a few times:) And I bought a package of clothes pins. So I added 6-7 to each bag. So for $2.00 I could give 4 girls -clothes lines and pins. Or they could use the rope for other things.

And for boys boxes, I like to add bungee cords.  My son had this idea and they use them all the time.  So why not add it to a boys box.

What do you like to divide?

2 Weeks until Collection Week!

2 weeks until Collection Week! One week until our Packing Party at church. The donation box was overflowing this morning. I am so thankful for everyone who has donated and helped bag soap and candy this morning. Plus our highschool Sunday School class moved all the boxes and supplies upstairs to our fellowship hall-this is a HUGE blessing! A little less to do on Saturday, when we set up for the party. We were praying for 250 boxes, and I am excited to see how many we will pack! God we do it for your Honour and Glory!

Friday Favorites- Hygiene Items

Items we take for granted, are a blessing to those who receive a box.

These are items that get packed into every box I pack.

 REMEMBER TO PLACE YOUR SOAP IN A ZIPLOC BAG.

Must haves.

Do you have specific items that you add to every box your pack?

Here's a run down of my Must Haves.

Hygiene-Wash cloth, soap (in a ziploc bag) toothbrush.
* I try to add a comb to every box. But I make sure girls for sure have combs.

School Supplies-Pencils, eraser, pens, pencil sharpener, crayons/markers or pencil crayons and Paper or coloring book.
*older kids I add sissors.

Stuffed Animal.
Every child deserves to have something sweet and cuddly.

Toys- Ball

Boys- car and yo-yo or slinky or marbles

Girls- jewelry, hair accessories, skipping rope.

Clothing-I like to add one piece of clothing per box.
Footwear, underwear and shirts are some of my favorites.

And a ziploc bag of hard candy.

What are some of your Must Haves?