Fredericktown, Missouri, November 5, 2008 - Collection site Coordinator Sharon Settle has just announced that the collection hours have been established to accommodate an increase in the number of shoeboxes received.  SMTS, Inc. (back parking lot entrance inside the fence) is the established Relay Center in this area and will be available for drop off for an extended schedule during National Collection Week, November 17-24, 2008.  Hours are: Monday thru Friday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Sunday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; with evening hours on Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

1227 kids received an Operation Christmas Child shoe box from those collected in 2007 at the Fredericktown location.  Businesses in the local area have stepped up to  help get the word out by distributing information and shoe boxes to anyone who wants to fill a shoe box.  Several local area groups are also including the shoe boxes in their project list to reach out to children around the world who are suffering from natural disaster, war, terrorism, disease, poverty and famine.

Keith and Sharon Settle are going to Atlanta, GA distribution center to help with the next step in the process.  One of our supervisors, John Casebolt from Cape Girardeau went to Lima, Peru earlier this year to see packages  delivered to the kids. He said, “It was a very moving experience.”

Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has collected and hand delivered more than 61 million shoe box gifts to hurting kids in some 120 countries.