The Christmas season starts early for local couple Billy and Carolyn Sparkman.
For 20 years, they have been involved with the Operation Christmas Child effort in Texarkana.
Operation Christmas Child is the non-denominational children's ministry segment of Samaritans Purse, an international evangelistic disaster relief ministry whose CEO is Franklin Graham. Shoe boxes are filled with hygiene items, toys and school supplies and will be delivered to children in need in more than 100 countries.
The reward is seeing the videos of children opening their boxes, said Carolyn Sparkman.
"I love to see those children open those shoe boxes. One boy was so excited he got a wash cloth, because he had never had his own wash cloth," she said.
Another child traded a toy truck he received in his box for a toothbrush.
"It really helps put things in perspective. Sometimes I just sit down and watch some of the videos. But I have to make sure I have a big box of tissues," Carolyn Sparkman said.
The Sparkmans and an army of volunteers recently worked shoe box collection week at their church, Cross View Baptist in Texarkana, Texas.
Cross View Church is a central drop-off location for other sites that have collected shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.
Last year, this area collected 65,000 shoe boxes, said Carolyn Sparkman.
The boxes are for children ages 2 to 14 and will also include information on Christianity in a way that is child-friendly.
The Sparkmans have been working with the organization for about 20 years. They started volunteering when First Baptist Church Texarkana was a drop-off location.
Anyone can donate a shoe box with items for children including small toys, hygiene items or school supplies. Individuals can donate, but many church groups or other organizations make the boxes an annual project, Carolyn Sparkman said.
Many people include a personal note or a photo of themselves in the box they pack.
After the boxes are collected, they go to a processing center in Coppell, Texas, where the items are inspected to make sure they are appropriate and do not include anything that might leak or melt. Over a million shoe boxes were processed at the Coppell processing center last year.
They are then packed up and sent to their destinations. A plane owned by Samaritan's Purse takes many of the boxes.
The goal this year is for 11 million boxes from the United States and other participating countries to reach children in need.
"That's the goal, But there might be less this year because of COVID," Carolyn Sparkman said.
Every shoe box affects between seven and 10 people, because of the items inside and the message of Christianity, according to the Sparkmans.
Carolyn Sparkman said that two years ago she was able to travel to Paraguay to help distribute the boxes.
"The kids were so excited. When we drove down those little dusty roads, they saw our van and wondered what was going on," she said.
Billy Sparkman was planning to go this year but was unable to because of COVID-19.
Operation Christmas Child is something the Sparkmans work on almost all year long.
"We take a break after Christmas and then about March, we start again. It's very rewarding, it's our passion and our calling," Carolyn Sparkman said.
For more information, contact Billy or Carolyn Sparkman at 903-908-5585. Or visit samaritanspurse.org. Suggested items for the boxes are included on the website.