While most of us are starting to think about holiday shopping, parishioners at one church in South Hadley are concentrating on holiday giving.

Volunteers packed into Second Baptist Church in South Hadley on Friday ready to pack.

Shoe boxes were stacked waiting to be stuffed with essentials that would no doubt bring a smile to the face of the child who receives it.
Youth leader Gabbie Bouyea explained the process, "You fill it with things like hygiene supplies toys, stuffed animals, crayons and things like that, and then at the last station you can write a letter and send it."

Rayanne Neveu is a youth leader at the church. Since she began, the chapter of the program which is organized by the Samaritan Purse at the Second Baptist Church will be approaching close to 2000 shoe boxes stuffed and shipped.

"You can pack a box and someone else will put that box into a child's hands," said Neveu.

That box will reach kids in all corners of the globe, all dealing with difficult times.

"Then they get distributed all over the world and in our nation as well, to children in crisis, in need, they go to refugee camps, orphanages, after the floods, after Katrina, the Tsunami," said Neveu.

So you put exactly what you want in each box, helping out those less fortunate for the holidays. It’s been such a big hit at the church that a group of local students kicked it off at South Hadley High School, bringing in 50 boxes packed and ready to ship.

"Why don't we do this at the high school? You know we could probably get a whole bunch of boxes. So we set it up and starting November Ninth thru today we did this at the high school," said Olivia Neveu.

With any great event, it’s simple and easy, and what started with one empty shoebox has grown to fill thousands of children lives with reprieve from the stress they face, at least for one day.

"It's really exciting when those letters come back. Letting you know that the box you packed went were it was supposed to," said Rayanne Neveu.