Operation Christmas Child.

Susannahmia

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/default.asp

I remember wrapping up shoeboxes full of toys for this charity in school. I always thought it was a lovely charity and a great idea. However after looking at their website I don't think I will ever do that again!

I didn't realise how hard core Christian they were, forcing their beliefs on vulnerable children. I'm a catholic by birth but this organisation is a bit scary!

I can't believe schools, colleges etc promote this charity. Somehow I doubt many people know what the aims of the charity really are.

Kur4mA

It's pretty obvious the aim of this charity is to harvest the organs of childrens from all over the world OMGWTFBBQUACK!?!?!!11oneone!1eleventy!!

chopperbyrne

imred wrote: »

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/default.asp

I remember wrapping up shoeboxes full of toys for this charity in school. I always thought it was a lovely charity and a great idea. However after looking at their website I don't think I will ever do that again!

I didn't realise how hard core Christian they were, forcing their beliefs on vulnerable children. I'm a catholic by birth but this organisation is scary!

I can't believe schools, colleges etc promote this charity. Somehow I doubt many people know what the aims of the charity really are.

What?

How can you be of a certain religion by birth?

Susannahmia

chopperbyrne wrote: »

What?

How can you be of a certain religion by birth?

My parents are catholic and I was raised as one, I don't practice or really share those beliefs anymore however. Just mentioned it so someone wouldnt give out about me being anti christian or something.

Kur4mA

This is clearly a constipiracy.

We'll probably receive a complaint about this and it will be shut down soon.

chopperbyrne

imred wrote: »

My parents are catholic and I was raised as one, I don't practice or really share those beliefs anymore however. Just mentioned it so someone wouldnt give out about me being anti christian or something.

Okay, but you weren't born catholic.

Slow Motion

chopperbyrne wrote: »

Okay, but you weren't born catholic.

But you were born pedantic !

Susannahmia

Slow Motion wrote: »

But you were born pedantic !

High five!:D

Slow Motion

imred wrote: »

High five!:D

Slow by name only

renmorescout

I cant see the problem, Just because the organization is run by Christians, doesn’t mean that any kid is refused a shoebox, because of their beliefs. At the end of the day, every shoebox makes its way into the hands of a child that otherwise would get nothing ! A lot of the time, this is the only present these kids will Ever get!

biko

Their Leader looks a bit creepy, that's the only thing wrong I can find (besides that god does not exist and stuff)

renmorescout

True, ye man is a bit extreme, but I’m sure that means diddly squat to the thousands of kids that will get a shoebox full of nice things! It is not going to change the world, but if it brings a smile to a kid, that will do for me.

Zaph

They're run by Billy Graham's son. You'd hardly expect them to be non-denominational with him in charge, would you?

neuro-praxis

Wow. It gets uncooler by the day to be a Christian. I must think about taking up atheism, it's such an intellectually and philosophically rigourous belief system, not to mention morally superior in every way. :rolleyes:

I must defend this project, whatever about Franklin Graham, I know nothing about the man, and the Irish branch of this charity is only linked to him in theory.

My church, which was only one of many, collected and co-ordinated five thousand of these boxes in the North Kildare region. That's a lot of work I can tell you. The idea that the children have any responsibility is absolutely ridiculous. They get goodies on Christmas day from an inter-church organisation that is ingoing in its commitment to love and care for disenfranchised children the world over. Absolutely nothing is demanded of them, and they receive gifts and love regardless of colour or creed. Teams of people from small communities all over the world travel to struggling areas to join the full-time staff who set up structures to support poor children and share a bit of Christmas cheer, that's all. Why do they do it? Because they want to share a little of God's love around to kids otherwise starved of the gifts and affection that they should rightfully receive.

The world is going crazy if you have got to hide the reason WHY you do something in order to be allowed to do it in peace.

renmorescout

I have been involved in this Charity, and each year Irish people send about 300,000 shoeboxes, filled with sweets, toys, and love, to kids who would never get thing like this, ever ! I will be traveling to Odessa, early in January to help with the distribution. I will let ye know how I get on, when I get back.
But That figure again !! 300,000 boxes + 300,000 happy kids!!

Nightwish

I stopped supporting this charity when I realised its mission. I refuse to back faith based charities, as I dont believe in using personal spiritual beliefs to give charity, or spreading a certain mission. This year I arranged for the shoeboxes for my girl guides to go directly to an orphanage in the Ukraine.

Karoma

http://wdka.hro.nl/~0764944/marbles/strips/2007-03-26.jpg

renmorescout

Karoma wrote: »

http://wdka.hro.nl/~0764944/marbles/strips/2007-03-26.jpg

Like the comic Karoma, But if you took the time to look at what happens to a shoebox, before it is shipped, you would see that every box is checked, and any not suitable items are removed. And Operation Christmas Child works hand in hand with local charities, providing aid all year around, not just a shoebox at christmas! I have no problem with people not liking the Christian axpect of this charity, but there are not a lot of Atheist run charities to take their place!
As I said before, 300,000 irish shoeboxes means 300,000 happy kids!
It the Christian groups dont do it, who will ??

nesf

neuro-praxis wrote: »

Wow. It gets uncooler by the day to be a Christian. I must think about taking up atheism, it's such an intellectually and philosophically rigourous belief system, not to mention morally superior in every way.

*attempts to save you and bring you to the light that is agnosticism*

neuro-praxis

nesf wrote: »

*attempts to save you and bring you to the light that is agnosticism*

siochain

Hi Folks,
You cannot under estimate the effect these shoe boxes have on the kids. These kids are in seriously deprived areas of the world, many are in orphanages and in many cases either disabled and or suffering from mental trauma.
I have seen first hand the distribution of these boxes and the impact they have on the kids is hard to describe. How amazed and appreciative they are of something as basic as bubbles.
At no time was religion\faith mentioned during the distribution. The charity does a lot of positive work all over the world and is making a real difference (as are many other charities of different faiths). People should really know all the facts and or experience something themselves before knocking it.

Peace

siochain

imred wrote: »

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/default.asp

forcing their beliefs on vulnerable children.

I assume you can back this up?

Dizzyblonde

I do a Christmas Child shoebox every year - I look forward to it and think it's a wonderful scheme. I certainly won't stop doing it now, and I hope this thread doesn't stop others from doing it.
Unless there is proof that the scheme is doing harm, then I say stop being negative about it. In my opinion it's a very worthy cause and much needed.

Puteq

I searched boards for 'Operation Christmas Child' because i feel torn on the issue. I am an atheist, and I hate the idea that something I do would be manipulated to force a religious ideology on anyone, particularly a vulnerable child who doesn’t know any better. However having read all the opinions in this thread, I think it is a good idea to fill one of these shoeboxes. It is a good thing no matter what the idea behind it is, and when you think about it as kids you were told santa came down the chimney and left presents under the tree for you – that made you happy despite the fact that it was untrue ... this is the same thing so i say go for it everyone, fill a shoebox this year! I think its relevant to note that there are no atheist charities filling shoeboxes for kids (not that i know of anyway) so until there is this is the best we have, this is one of the good side-effects of religion so we might as well not throw the baby out with the bathwater in rejecting religion.

Nevyn

Well then Puteq get invovled with Boards.ie christmas charity, Santa Strike Force.

http://www.santastrikeforce.com/2004/11/some_answers_i_.html#more

Whats this all about
We're quietly buying and distributing cool stuff for kids to hospitals and care-centres because it sucks being there for xmas and and Santa is very busy and we feel he should have some human helpers and the positions have been vacant long enough so we're volunteering. These gists are NOT given to the individual kids but rather to the charities themselves so that all kids will get use of them over the year.

How does it work
You buy stuff from our list on Amazon or donate cash to us. Then you sit back and feel great about yourself. Thats it!
The stuff gets delivered to us and I am organising delivery of it to the various targets.

I dont have a credit card, how can I help?
You can transfer funds in complete confidentiality to this dedicated account and I'll use it to buy last minute items where needed.


There is a completely dedicated account and every penny into it is for the SSF and will be spent on SSF related items.

I do have a credit card and I want to donate money rather then buy toys!
just click this button -> }

Is it right to spend so much on toys when some kids need treatment!
I'm firmly of the opinion that it is the states responsibility to provide basic health care for kids. As such, and I know this sounds harsh, but I dont want to let them off the hook.

However last year started out as a bit of a nice thing to do for kids but SO much stuff got bought and so much money was donated that I felt this year it would be overkill to turn all of it into toys and games. So, I'm going to take the cash we collect and spend at least some of it on more serious things for kids charities. In this I'll be guided by the suggestions of the targets themselves. It might not be anything spectacular but I think its a good way to go with the whole thing.


How do we know we can trust you
I guess in short, you dont. But I have a long track record of doing crazy stuff for kids charities and all the SSF people on Boards.ie trust me implicitly. You can check later with the targets if you like! (Temple Street, Crumlin and also Barretstown have been hit in the past two years...

Someone said something about a Strike Force? Whats up with that?
Some people are grouping together to buy some of the bigger ticket items that would be too expensive for one person to buy realistically. We've nicknamed them Strike Forces. The post on the SSF board on Boards.ie.

Aren't we just feeding Boards.ie's profile? Is this an ego exercise for DeVore? I think charity should be done for charity's sake.
So do I.
All presents will be delivered in the name of the Santa Strike Force. Its not possible to completely remain anonymous as word of this will get out I'm sure but all the same I want to just walk up to a target and more or less say "You've just been hit by the Santa Strike Force" and walk away. We did that last year and this year most of the charities dont know we're coming. However in order to publicise it we had to remove a certain amount of anonymity.

renmorescout

Well said Puteq ! As I said earlier in this thread, Operation Christmas child IS a Christian run Charity. It makes no bones about that. Any yes, most, but not all, the charities it works with over seas, are Christian run. The reason for this is, they are usually the only people on the ground, helping these kids.
There is no problem supporting non Christian charities, if they are trustworthy, and if any one knows of such a charity, they should make contact with www.samaritanspurse.ie. I was lucky enough to go to Odessa last January, to help in the distribution on shoeboxes, and after seeing the joy on the kids faces, have no problem in helping out again.

4zn76tysfajdxp

Susannahmia wrote: »

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/default.asp

I remember wrapping up shoeboxes full of toys for this charity in school. I always thought it was a lovely charity and a great idea. However after looking at their website I don't think I will ever do that again!

I didn't realise how hard core Christian they were, forcing their beliefs on vulnerable children. I'm a catholic by birth but this organisation is a bit scary!

I can't believe schools, colleges etc promote this charity. Somehow I doubt many people know what the aims of the charity really are.

Christmas is a Christian holiday. It is, by definition, religious. If you don't like it don't celebrate it. It really is that simple.

ejmaztec

They don't want shoe-boxes, they want AK47s.

EamonnKeane

Valerie Immense Gown wrote: »

Christmas is a Christian holiday. It is, by definition, religious. If you don't like it don't celebrate it. It really is that simple.

Christmas is a winter holiday co-opted by Christians. The 'true meaning' of Christmas is that winter in northern Europe is miserable so we should have a festival to cheer ourselves up.

AnonoBoy

ejmaztec wrote: »

They don't want shoe-boxes, they want AK47s.

I don't often use this phrase but:

EPIC FAIL!!!!

AnonoBoy

Zaph wrote: »

They're run by Billy Graham's son.

So one of the lads off Boyzone runs it?

shoelaceface

i was looking at the american site yesterday (the same link as mentioned in the op) and to be fair its ridiculous how pushy they are about the religion, but then thats america.. they tend to be all about that!

anyway!! i know that since last year they have removed the religion pushing and are no longer allowed to put the religion booklet that they were putting into the shoeboxes!

i still think its a really worthy charity and il be packing my shoeboxes again this year!

i dont think people should stop because of the religous aspect!
and dont think that im the kind that pushes religion... lol.. i only go to mass at christmas..

javaboy

shoelaceface wrote: »

anyway!! i know that since last year they have removed the religion pushing and are no longer allowed to put the religion booklet that they were putting into the shoeboxes!

i still think its a really worthy charity and il be packing my shoeboxes again this year!

+1. I think a little perspective is called for. Fair enough if the people who are boycotting religious backed charities go and donate the money to somewhere more preferable. But if it's a case of leaving unused toys or whatever lying around the attic rather than sticking them in a shoe box, I think it's a bit silly. I mean if they were only including a leaflet (which according to the post above they aren't even doing any more) what influence is it really going to have? How many of the atheists posting here grew up in an Ireland where it was pretty much all Catholic. You were expected to get baptised, make your communion and confirmation etc. Many people will have been brought to Mass weekly too.

So if some people who were immersed in the religion managed to disregard it and consider themselves atheists, how much influence do you think a pamphlet is going to have? In the grand scheme of things, I'd say this charity is doing far more good than harm. If they were to cease operations tomorrow, I doubt very much they would be replaced by non-religious groups.

ejmaztec

AnonoBoy wrote: »

I don't often use this phrase but:

EPIC FAIL!!!!

You win some, you lose some

Dinter

I would imagine that if your life involved spending each and every day in grinding misery and poverty with no real chance of it improving whatsoever even with the intervention of well meaning NGO's and direct aid, then the idea of a happy clappy afterlife would be quite appealing.

Just because over the last forty years the Great Irish Unwashed have finally got educated enough to spell agnostic doesn't mean that we should dismiss the fact that apart from aid, a lot of these charities provide hope to the hopeless. Personally I think that is worth a lot more than them having to say the odd prayer together. When you've nothing else why not take the "happiness of credulity" over the disappointment of reality.

I couldn't give a crap if a charity like this gave out eucharist with the toys. They are definitely improving the childs lot. It is easy when sitting here with our developed world sensibilities to bemoan the fact that a Christian charity is interacting with children when the most important point is that someone is interacting with them.

wee bear

hey,ive done a little bit of work with this charity, i started off like most people out there just wanting to do somethign to help, im a christian but pretty much like most christians in ireland i think. never go to mass, certainly not pushy about it at all, christian because i was raised that way etc...
anyhow i got to go over to one of the deprived countries and see the kids first hand, and yeah it is a christian organisation and yeah there is a bit of it taught but to be honest its pretty much the way we were taught religion when we were in school, some plays and songs and stuff, at first i was a bit unsure because im not really a practising christian and i didnt really want to feel like i was pushing something on to children, but its not really like that, for one the kids who were there already had an interest in the religion, they knew all abotu it (like us being taught it in school and then going to see a play abotu it somewhere else, no big deal??) and to be honest they really seemed to enjoy that aspect, absolutely nothing was pushed onto these kids, and i was looking out for that believe me!!

even the otehr leaders there could see that i was there more tohelp these kids and give them a bit of love and they completely respected that and didnt make me give any talks or share anything about jesus etc. they just let me be.
i came out of that experience, happy, the kids have absolutely NOTHING!! and to be honest its very easy for a lot of us to turn to our parents to get by (ive never really felt the need to turn to god! or had some big experience, i have my family!! these kids have nobody to turn to and at the end of it i felt well if turing to god helps them get through the day and gives them a bit of hope well then thats fine by me!! nothing was pushed on these kids, or i would have a lot to say to the organisers!! the kids loved their time with us!!!

as for the boxes ive done that too. ive gone through them for shipping, and firstly there is no religous stuff put into those boxes that ive seen, and ive sealed them!!! secondly the boxes are checked of course!!! even if there arecertain types of toy animals that offend people of different cultures say snakes in africa they are removed from the boxes that are going to that country!! so to say random things are being send is ridiculous!!!
ive met kids who have recieved boxes too and you wouldnt believe how much those boxes mean to them, its a joke, it means so much!!

i understand peoples reservation about religion im exactly the same, i only took part for the good of the kids and im very glad i did, im defo going to keep sending my boxes anyhow coz i know first hand what good they do regardless of relgion!!

Redpunto

they do this in my workplace and in my little ones school and refuse to do it on the grounds that its abolsutely ridiculous doing this when there are children in Ireland waking up with no bloody toys in Ireland. And so these children in the countries the boxes are being to actually celebrate Christmas. Its just another way of converting the vunerable.

Overheal

Thaedydal wrote: »

Well then Puteq get invovled with Boards.ie christmas charity, Santa Strike Force.

http://www.santastrikeforce.com/2004/11/some_answers_i_.html#more

I might be interested if I get to wear a swat vest, carry a riot shield, keep a candy-cane stunstick and a kevlar santa hat.

Glowing

I do it every year, and look forward to it. I get all my bit of pieces in Penny's and Tescos, and sometimes keep stuff I get during the year. I don't really care what the charity's motives are, if it gives a deprived kid 10 mins of joy, when they might actually forget about the fact that they're hungry, or ill .... it's such a small sacrafice to be honest.

It costs very little to fill a box, and with all the materialism that goes on here over Christmas, it's something (be it small) to give back. When I have kids, they'll be doing it too ...

Redpunto

Glowing wrote: »

I do it every year, and look forward to it. I get all my bit of pieces in Penny's and Tescos, and sometimes keep stuff I get during the year. I don't really care what the charity's motives are, if it gives a deprived kid 10 mins of joy, when they might actually forget about the fact that they're hungry, or ill .... it's such a small sacrafice to be honest.

It costs very little to fill a box, and with all the materialism that goes on here over Christmas, it's something (be it small) to give back. When I have kids, they'll be doing it too ...

I understand the appeal of the whole idea but you not feel better about yourself if you gave Barnardos a call and see if any of the kids that they deal with could do with something and at least youre supporting kids in your own area??

Glowing

Well yeah of course I could do that as well - but this is something I'm going to do annually, regardless. I support other charities too but OCC is well established, and seem to run a good operation.

Kids in need are in need, whether or not they're in my area or 2000 km away. It's all the same.

Davidius

Horrible charities.

I've never seen them do anything to seriously push their religion on people but they're Christian and hating Christianity is hip and cool.