Since it began, Operation Christmas Child has helped to reach over 146 million children worldwide with hand packed boxes full of toys and necessities. These children receive shoe boxes filled with small gifts that they can either find practical use for, or can use for entertainment. Each box is hand packed by a volunteer, usually from churches, school clubs or other similar places. At Big Spring, Club ADURO is the school’s connection to Operation Christmas Child.

“The club tries to have weekly Bible studies. The topic will be announced the week before, and each student will go home and read the chapter and they will come in and have a little discussion,” said Amanda Frankford, science teacher at Big Spring and adviser of Club ADURO. Club ADURO is the school’s Christian club, and is mostly student led, with occasional student taught lessons and luncheons.

Last year, the idea to help with Operation Christmas Child was brought to the club by Emma Shugart. “I started [helping with Operation Christmas Child] two years ago through the church, but I started at school last year,” Shugart said. She currently helps through both her church, Newville First Church of God, and through the Big Spring High School and community. “Last year we were talking about things that we could do to get the school involved and so I was like this is kinda what my church is doing and it could be really easy for the school if we could just bring in things kinda like a food drive,” Shugart said. This is exactly how the club went forward.

Club ADURO asks that students bring in supplies for a shoe box, or a shoe box itself. “We ask for students to bring stuff that we can package and send to children in need,” said Frankford. Club ADURO collects the items, and package the items, then delivers them to a local church, who send them to a distribution center where the boxes are shipped out to the many areas to help children in need.

Shugart said, “I just enjoy seeing the impact it has on people’s lives, and the people that are packing the shoe boxes, the joy that it brings them to help other kids, and then especially like the kids that are impacted from other countries.”