Last month, the men’s and women’s basketball teams from Trinity Baptist College travelled to Charlotte, NC to volunteer at the Operation Christmas Child distribution center. The teams were travelling to Winston-Salem to play a region game at Piedmont International, and stopped on their way to assist in the effort.

Deborah Williams, TBC’s director of HeBrews Cafe and an OCC volunteer, informed TBC Athletic Director John D. Jones about an urgent need for volunteers at the distribution center in Charlotte. Due to the winter storms that had hit the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, OCC’s typically strong volunteer base had been adversely affected. Coach Jones and women’s basketball coach Kelly Brindley decided to alter the team’s travel plans in order to volunteer.

Upon arrival, the students completed a brief training session and then were assigned to packing positions out on the processing line. They labored joyfully for over 2 hours and processed more than 600 shoebox gifts, which were delivered to underprivileged children in third-world countries around the globe.

TBC Lady Eagle Kaneesha Ellick enjoyed the experience so much that she didn’t want to leave. “It felt so good to serve the Lord in this way. I know we are having an impact on hundreds of little kids around the world.”

Junior captain Evan Wheeler expressed similar sentiments. “My family has been involved in OCC through our local church for years. So to be able to come to the main distribution center and work alongside of hundreds of people to share God’s love was a special experience for me.”

Operation Christmas Child is an outreach of Samaritan’s Purse, a faith-based ministry affiliated with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Since 1993, more than 100 million boys and girls in over 130 countries have experienced God’s love through the power of simple shoebox gifts from Operation Christmas Child. Samaritan’s Purse works with local churches and ministry partners to deliver the gifts and share the life-changing Good News of Jesus Christ.