Residents from Columbus, Starkville and Winona came together to collect nearly 43,000 gifts for children in need ahead of the Christmas holiday.
The international effort, Operation Christmas Child, collects shoeboxes filled with holiday gifts as part of the Samaritan's Purse Project. Since 1993, OCC has collected and delivered more than 135 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 150 countries.
In Starkville, around 12 churches came together to collect gifts, and OCC Director Charlotte Taylor said 4,346 gifts were donated in Oktibbeha County.
"We were very pleased with the results," Taylor said. "We were just excited to see this ministry grow every year, and the number of people participating grow. It's a wonderful thing to do."
Collections in Starkville were done through Faith Baptist Church in Starkville, after outgrowing the space at Starkville Community Church.
Organizers said area residents can still participate by packing a shoebox online for children in need abroad. Visitors can browse samaritanspurse.org/occ to select gifts matched to a child's specific age and gender. Those who contribute can include photos and encouraging messages, while following up on each gift shoebox to find out where in the world the donations were sent.
Participants can give a $25 gift card to a family member or friend to join OCC. Gifted shoeboxes are filled with school supplies, toys and various hygiene items.
In 2015, more than 11.2 million gifts were donated, and each year 150,000 volunteers help the effort in the U.S. to college, ship and distribute shoebox gifts.
Taylor said the group is looking for year-round volunteers.
"It's not just a once a year thing," she added. "We would love to have people help us."