Horizon MAP students pitch in for Samaritan’s Purse campaign

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Southern Alberta Newspapers

For the tenth time, Vauxhall resident JoAnn Pepneck brought a group of high school students to Calgary to spend a day helping children in need at the Samaritan’s Purse processing centre.

 JoAnn, 24 students from Horizon MAP School and eight chaperones spent Nov. 29 inspecting Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes before they were packed in cartons and transported to Central America, West Africa, Philippines and Ukraine. There, they will be given to children who in many cases have never received a gift in their lives. The Vauxhall group also brought along 134 shoeboxes packed by students and members of Vauxhall Community Church.

“The kids love it here,” Pepneck explained while the students inspected shoeboxes nearby. “They feel like they’re serving, like they’re doing something important.”

Pepneck is a fan of Operation Christmas Child because, “it’s a hand-on way of giving to children in need. And it’s a way of training our children that Christmas isn’t just about them receiving presents.”

It’s not too late for Vauxhall residents to help children in need. Just visit http://www.PackaBox.ca and pack Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes online.