Members of Gadsden Fire Department Local Union 454 heard about Operation Christmas Child at a meeting last month, Union President/Gadsden Firefighter Matt Blom said. Jamie McGlaughn, of Riverbend Baptist Church, told firefighters about the program that collects boxes of small gifts and sends them to children around the world.
Riverbend Baptist and Southside Baptist Church serve as local collection points for Etowah County Operation Christmas Child, and the county’s goal this year is to collect 6,000 boxes.
Operation Christmas Child is a part of the Samaritan’s Purse ministry. The drive sends gifts to children in impoverished countries, organizers say, sometimes providing them the only gifts they receive in the Christmas – or any – season.