Operation Christmas Child Comes to Manhattan College

By: Deepika Mehra

Posted: 11/15/06

Operation Christmas Child is a program run by an organization called Samaritan's Purse, that reaches out to the unfortunate. This year, Manhattan College is spearheading a chapter of the program, aimed at helping the needy.
This year for the first time, Lisa Lofaso is determined to bring Operation Christmas Child to Manhattan College with the help of Just Peace. Lofaso said, "My church back home participates in Operation Christmas Child ever year, so when they were talking about it a few weeks ago I decided I wanted to get Manhattan to participate."
Lofaso explained, "The purpose ultimately is to let these kids know that the world hasn't forgotten about them. Most of the children have next to nothing, so to receive a box filled with toys, toiletries, coloring books, etc, is a special thing."
These items are collected in shoeboxes that are wrapped and filled with toys and other small items and distributed to poor children worldwide. Last year alone Operation Christmas Child collected 7.6million boxes, giving them to children in over 95 countries.
Lofaso is in charge of collecting boxes, advertising, and getting funding. She has also has made boxes growing up and believes "it is a really fun thing to participate in. The cause is such a great one, so I wanted to get Manhattan involved."
Just Peace's goal for Manhattan is to collect 100 boxes, involving the entire Manhattan community, starting with the RAs in Jasper, Chrysostom, and Horan.
At the moment, Lofaso is busy spreading the word and getting people involved. She mentioned that Lois Harr of Campus Ministry has helped by assisting with advertisements and providing an area to collect the boxes. Just Peace also plans to offer assistance.
Harr added, "The holiday season makes people think about being giving and loving, and it is very important to encourage students to think about people who are underprivileged."
"These people face dire issues all year long, and it is our goal to help them, not only this holiday season but all year long. We can all unite and help the needy; there is no greater service than this."
Lofaso hopes RAs will sponsor floor programs to get more people involved, and she plans send a campus-wide email and host a night in Cornerstone where students can pack boxes.
Senior Melissa Pauls, a discussion facilitator of Just Peace, said, "RAs and Social Action are helping raise awareness of Operation Christmas Child, and students are putting packages together to send to the poor and needy."
Pauls added, "There are numerous children suffering everyday throughout this world. It takes very little for us to bring happiness to their lives."
Freshman Sarah Cicuto, another member of Just Peace, said Just Peace "Helping each other will make this world a better place to live in. Lisa came up with the idea, and we are all helping her achieve her goal. I think that it is such a small and easy thing, and we don't even have to take too much time from our schedule to work for this wonderful cause."
Students can either participate in a floor program for free or buy their own supplies and drop off completed boxes in Cornerstone by November 17. The $7 shipping cost for each box will be paid with money the Lasallian Action Committee has set aside for the cause.
Lofaso noted that the project's greatest challenge is "the limitation of time."
She said, "National Collection week is the week before Thanksgiving, with 11/19 being the last drop-off date. We're racing against the clock to get the funding approved so we can start making and collecting boxes."
Boxes will be collected until November 17, and students can email Lofaso at Llofaso.student@manhattan.edu.