10 Years of Contributing Benefits 2,221 Children

Featured Photo: The 2019 Team. Photo Courtesy of Tracy Samuelson

A little bit of inspiration mixed with good information can be the key ingredient to making a difference in the lives of others. That’s been true for Tracy Samuelson, who started organizing efforts in The Colony ten years ago in support of Operation Christmas Child, which benefits needy children around the world. Her desire to make a difference has benefitted 2,221 children between late 2010 and today.

Samuelson’s efforts were prompted by an article she read ten years ago about a Romanian orphan who had received a wrapped shoebox at Christmastime and had never seen something so beautiful before. Thinking the box was the gift because of its beauty, the child didn’t initially realize that there were toys, school supplies, and hygiene items inside. Because of that box, the trajectory of her life changed.

As Samuelson read about the orphan’s improved life, she thought, “We can help!” She and her daughter, Megan Patterson, who was a teenager at the time, decided to set up a shoebox packing activity among the young women of The Colony Ward, one of the local congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In that first year, they were able to put together 161 boxes for needy children as a part of Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international relief organization.

That was just the beginning, as Samuelson was motivated to continue to help in the 9 years to come. As she says, “This is near and dear to my heart!” To make it happen, she has also involved her church’s women’s ministry, the Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Youth, children, and adults alike have contributed and helped over the 10 years of effort, with Samuelson increasing her goal each year. For this year, those efforts led to 251 boxes being put together with her guidance.

As Tracy humbly states, “None of this would have been possible without the generous support and contributions of so many for the last 10 years. I may have organized the chaos, but those who donated and wrapped and packed for the last 10 years are the real heroes!”

Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse, an international relief organization. Their mission is to provide local partners around the world with shoeboxes filled with small toys, hygiene items, and school supplies as a means of reaching out to children in their own communities with the Good News of Jesus Christ. They ship these simple gifts outside the United States to children affected by war, poverty, natural disaster, famine, and disease; and to children living on Native American reservations in the U.S. Although National Collection Week has passed, those interested in helping can still donate by either bringing packed shoeboxes to their processing center in Coppell or by building a shoebox online: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/buildonline/.