Operation Christmas Child Kickoff takes place Saturday

Sep. 3—It's never too early to think about what might be the perfect Christmas gift for someone. This weekend will see the kickoff to Operation Christmas Child, a program that sees gifts get into the hands of children in need around the world.

Operation Christmas Child, or OCC, is also known to many as a shoebox ministry, in that families across the U.S. pack shoeboxes full of fun and educational items to send out each year to children.

The kickoff for the Lake Cumberland region will take place this Saturday at Victory Christian Fellowship on Oak Hill Road. The doors open at 9 a.m. for guests to look at the displays on hand, while the program begins at 10 a.m.

The event is a chance for participating Lake Cumberland churches to gather and learn what is new for the coming shoebox season, as well as for any individuals or businesses to learn what the ministry is all about, according to Rita Ringner, one of the area coordinators for the area.

There is no obligation, she explained. People can simply turn up and receive information which might help them decide if their church or business would be interested in participating.

The ministry, organized by the national aid program Samaritan's Purse, oversees the creation of bountiful boxes the contain items such as toys, school supplies, hygiene items, and small clothing items.

No food, candy or liquid items can be shipped, as the boxes goes overseas and those items can cause the boxes to be held up in customs, Ringner said.

She added that while soap will still be accepted this year, part of this year's kickoff information will be to get the word out that it might be eliminated soon.

"It causes some problems in customs in some countries. It is acceptable this year, but we are going to mention that it's something that will probably be going away," she said.

Ringner also added that the gifts should contain "quality items — items that are going to last. For OCC, the rule is one gift box per child per lifetime. If that's the only gift a child's going to receive, you want to make sure it's excellent. It represents the free gift of salvation, so you don't want it to be anything inferior."

For the past two years, the kickoff's guest speaker has been someone who received a OCC shoebox as a child. But for this year's event, the main speakers will be someone a little closer to home: Rita Ringner and her husband Randy themselves.