Harvest Chapel Free Methodist Church is a newly announced site that will be serving as a drop-off location, collecting shoebox gifts for children overseas during Operation Christmas Child’s National Collection Week, Nov. 18-25.

Families, churches and groups are busy transforming empty shoeboxes into fun gifts filled with toys, school supplies and hygiene items. The Samaritan’s Purse project partners with local churches across the globe to deliver these tangible expressions of God’s love to children affected by war, disease, disaster, poverty and famine. For many of these children, it will be the first gift they have ever received.

This year, local area residents hope to collect more than 9,081 gifts to contribute to the 2019 global goal of reaching 11 million children.

“I love seeing the local community rally together for a global impact,” said Regional Director Cecil Pollydore. “We see all ages getting involved -and more and more every year.”

Harvest Chapel, which is located at 39 Matteson St., Fredonia, will have collection hours at the following times: Monday, Nov. 18: 4-7 p.m.; Tuesday, Nov. 19 4-7 p.m.; Wednesday, Nov. 20, 9 a.m. to noon; Thursday, Nov. 21: 9 a.m. to noon; Friday, Nov. 22, 4-7 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 23, 1-4 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 24, 1-4 p.m.; Monday, Nov. 25, 9-11 a.m.

Other collection sites include:

¯ First Baptist Church, 59 S Erie St., Mayville.

¯ Bemus Point United Methodist Church, 4954 Bemus Ellery Road;

¯ Kidder Memorial United Methodist Church, 385 S. Main St., Jamestown;

For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call 518-437-0690, or visit samaritanspurse.org/occ.

Participants can donate $9 per shoebox gift online through “Follow Your Box” and receive a tracking label to discover its destination. Those who prefer the convenience of online shopping can browse samaritanspurse.org/buildonline to select gifts matched to a child’s specific age and gender, then finish packing the virtual shoebox by adding a photo and personal note of encouragement.

Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian relief and evangelism organization headed by Franklin Graham. The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way to children in need around the world and, together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 168 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 160 countries and territories.