The 2016 campaign for Operation Christmas Child is now underway.

The annual fundraiser put on by Samaritan's Purse, an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization, is continuing until Nov. 18.

The project allows Canadians to fill shoeboxes with gifts, which then are collected and distributed to children living in desperate situations in developing countries

It is the world’s largest Christmas project for kids. Over the past 23 years, Samaritan’s Purse has provided more than 120 million shoeboxes to over 100 different countries.

Last year, Crowsnest residents filled 258 shoeboxes.

Once again, The Nippon Institute of Technology is organizing Operation Christmas Child efforts in the Pass.

This year the boxes are being shipped to Haiti, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Chili, Uruguay, Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ukraine.

“Part of the purpose of operation Christmas child is to send a gift to a child who has probably never had one,” said NIT spokesperson Cheryl Cann.

Cann said NIT is organizing the shoebox program through a course it offers its students called Community Service Learning.

“It’s a course that teaches the students about our community and the importance of giving back,” she said.

To participate, pick up your shoebox at one of a number of locations in the Pass.

Shoeboxes are available at Copy Magic, Greyhound, Remedy’s RX, Turtle Mountain Pharmacy, Pharmasave, Horace Allen School, Isabelle Sellon School, More for Less and NIT.

Decide whether to pack a box for a girl or a boy at the age category of two to four, five to nine or ten to 14.

There are four categories of gift, said Cann. They include toys, educational supplies, hygiene items and clothing.

Avoid packing food, playing cards or used items, even if they’re in really good shape, she said.

Participants should place $7 inside each shoebox to offset the cost of shipping.

“That just helps Samaritan Purse because otherwise it’s a big price to pay for them to ship the boxes across the globe,” said Cann.

However, if you cannot afford that amount, do not hesitate to pack a shoebox as Samaritan’s Purse does get extra donations to cover the shipping for unpaid boxes.

If a box is too much and you just want to donate a few items, you can bring them to NIT.

“Bring it all to us and we’ll look after packing it,” said Cann.

For more information visit Samaritanspurse.ca or call NIT at (403) 562-7704.