Thousands of Gifts Collected in Rockville Will Go to Kids Around the Globe

A Rockville donation site collected more than 10,700 gifts for kids all over the world, as part of a project known as Operation Christmas Child.

The gifts included toys, school supplies, personal care items and notes of encouragement, a spokeswoman for the organization tells Patch.

Operation Christmas Child is an effort launched by the international Christian organization Samaritan’s Purse. Since 1993, the project has collected more than 100 million shoeboxes full of gifts and given them to children from more than 100 countries, according to the organization’s website.

In the coming weeks, volunteers will be working to prepare, package and transport a total of 7.2 million gifts, including the items collected in Rockville.

Residents can still get involved by building a box online.