Sidney students raise funds, collect gifts for Operation Christmas Child

Sidney High School students raised funds and collected Christmas gifts for those in need through Operation Christmas Child.

In a contest among the school's four classes and spearheaded by the National Honor Society, students collected 130 boxes for Operation Christmas Child and raised $935 for the non-profit organization Samaritan's Purse over the past two weeks.

The junior class won the competition by collecting 43 boxes, the most among the four classes.

It was the first year the National Honor Society sponsored the project, which came together at the last minute, according to NHS sponsor Sarah Birky.

"I was approached at the beginning of November by a friend volunteering for Samaritan's Purse, who asked if I knew of any groups who might like to help with the project, and I told her I would run it by our NHS students at our next meeting," Birky said. "When I brought it up to them, I told them that if we were to do this we would have to work hard and fast to complete it by the given deadline and that I understood if it would be too difficult with their busy schedules. But they responded immediately that this was something they wanted to do, and a few days later they were busy handing out flyers, posting on social media, giving presentations in their classes, and teaching their peers how to pack shoeboxes.

"These students have very busy lives, and it was amazing to see how ready and willing they were to make time for something they believed mattered. They hit the ground running with this project and displayed true leadership in encouraging their peers to join them."

Operation Christmas Child began in 1990 and joined forces with Samaritan's Purse in 1993, according to its website. Since that time, more than 100 million shoebox gifts have been donated and given to children across the world. Last year, gifts were distributed in Uruguay, El Salvador, Guatemala, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Venezuela, Iraq, Equatorial Guinea, Costa Rica, Guinea, Haiti, Nicaragua, Chile, Senegal and Ukraine.

"One of the things we loved about this project was the fact that it created an opportunity for a personal connection with the children we want to help," Birky said. "We know that each shoebox of toys, candy and clothing that we packed will be given directly to a child in another country who desperately needs some encouragement and joy. More than that, they can know that there are people on the other side of the world who care about them, even if we never meet them face to face.

"We believe projects like these are important because they remind us in the midst of our busyness - our classes, homework, tests, college applications and sports - that we really can make a difference in the lives of others."