Local Operation Christmas Child collection prepares cartons for processing
Lead Summary
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Local Operation Christmas Child workers as well as volunteers from the Hillsboro FFA oversaw the final packing and loading of hundreds of cartons filled with shoeboxes to benefit needy children throughout the world Monday.
The other six relay centers in the five-county area overseen by South Central Ohio Area Coordinators Ed and Helen Hiestand – Hillsboro, Greenfield, Peebles, Blanchester, Wilmington, Sardinia and Washington Court House – brought cartons stuffed full of packed shoeboxes to the Hillsboro collection center at Hillsboro First United Methodist Church on Monday.
With three relay centers' cartons already loaded into a semi trailer, Hillsboro Collection Center Coordinator Jerry McWhorter said that the trailer was close to half full of cartons, and some of the larger centers had not yet delivered their cartons.
Hillsboro FFA volunteers included Todd Adkins, Logan Flannery, Owen Jones, Jacob Lerch, Robbie Miller and Josh Rhoads.
"The FFA boys have really been wonderful, helping us load these cartons," Helen Hiestand said.
A semi driver will arrive Tuesday morning to drive the shoebox-filled semi to North Carolina to its processing center. Hiestand said that volunteers from Greenfield, Hillsboro, Peebles and Wilmington, including McWhorter and his wife, Lela, will travel to Boone and Charlotte, N.C. to work in the Operation Christmas Child processing centers for four days.
[[In-content Ad]]The North Carolina processing centers are the final stop for the shoeboxes before they are placed into containers and distributed throughout the world.
Looking at the projected totals from all six centers, Ed Hiestand said that he expected close to 8,600 shoeboxes donated this year, approximately 800 more than they had hoped for.
"It has been a phenomenal year," Helen Hiestand said. "This is just a God thing.
The total number of shoe boxes collected was 8,718, which surpassed the South Central Ohio area goal of 7,800.
The other six relay centers in the five-county area overseen by South Central Ohio Area Coordinators Ed and Helen Hiestand – Hillsboro, Greenfield, Peebles, Blanchester, Wilmington, Sardinia and Washington Court House – brought cartons stuffed full of packed shoeboxes to the Hillsboro collection center at Hillsboro First United Methodist Church on Monday.
With three relay centers' cartons already loaded into a semi trailer, Hillsboro Collection Center Coordinator Jerry McWhorter said that the trailer was close to half full of cartons, and some of the larger centers had not yet delivered their cartons.
Hillsboro FFA volunteers included Todd Adkins, Logan Flannery, Owen Jones, Jacob Lerch, Robbie Miller and Josh Rhoads.
"The FFA boys have really been wonderful, helping us load these cartons," Helen Hiestand said.
A semi driver will arrive Tuesday morning to drive the shoebox-filled semi to North Carolina to its processing center. Hiestand said that volunteers from Greenfield, Hillsboro, Peebles and Wilmington, including McWhorter and his wife, Lela, will travel to Boone and Charlotte, N.C. to work in the Operation Christmas Child processing centers for four days.
[[In-content Ad]]The North Carolina processing centers are the final stop for the shoeboxes before they are placed into containers and distributed throughout the world.
Looking at the projected totals from all six centers, Ed Hiestand said that he expected close to 8,600 shoeboxes donated this year, approximately 800 more than they had hoped for.
"It has been a phenomenal year," Helen Hiestand said. "This is just a God thing.
The total number of shoe boxes collected was 8,718, which surpassed the South Central Ohio area goal of 7,800.
"Needless to say, we are in awe of the final total," said Helen Hiestand. "That's an almost incomprehensible number. We never would have dreamed this."