Students have now returned to school to start a new year, but many children around the world do not have the same opportunity, simply because they lack the right materials — like pencils and paper.

Here, in Fountain Hills, churches, groups and individuals are trying to change that.

They are gathering materials such as notebooks, pens and pencils to pack in an empty shoebox, along with toys and hygiene items, then through Operation Christmas Child, the gifts will be sent to children around the world.

These shoeboxes not only bring practical assistance, but also joy and hope to these children, many of whom have never received a gift before.

Luis Gonzalez was six when he received his shoebox in Panama City, Panama. He lived in the ghetto, raised by a single mother, in a small house with dirt floors. He had begged his mother to buy school supplies so that he could go to school but his mother said they did not have the money.

If you didn’t have school supplies you could not attend school, a situation not uncommon for children living in poverty.

Luis was invited to an event in his community where Samaritan’s Purse distributed gift-filled shoeboxes through its Operation Christmas Child project.

Opening his shoebox, he found it filled with school supplies, as well as toys and hygiene items – and he was thrilled.

Luis, now a young man, says, “I am committed to sharing my story to encourage others to pack shoebox gifts. I know from personal experience the impact it can have on a child and the difference it can make in their life.”

There are many stories like this on the Samaritan’s Purse website and each one exists because someone cared enough to fill a simple shoebox with the gift of love.

If you are interested in learning more about how you can become involved with helping a child receive this gift of love, contact “Mike” Crichfield at Ipswich36@comcast.net.

The local goal for the Fountain Hills/Scottsdale area this year is 8,065 shoebox gifts.