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Small Boxes, Big Hearts - Youngsters Benefit Through Holiday Drive
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Escalon Relay Center coordinator Pam Elsholz, right, and volunteer Maybelle Abplanalp pack a few more shoeboxes into the larger box to prepare for shipping it out as part of the Operation Christmas Child effort. Last year, over 113 million shoebox gifts helped brighten the holidays for children in 157 countries. - photo by Marg Jackson/The Times
Jam packed, sealed, and ready to roll. More than 850 shoeboxes of gifts were sent off from the Escalon Relay Center at the Covenant Church on Monday, bound for Manteca and then Huntington Beach, as part of the Operation Christmas Child effort. From color crayons to hygiene items, new socks to small toys, the brightly colored shoeboxes were filled by local residents and delivered to the relay center over a several day period this month, culminating with the delivery to Manteca on Monday afternoon.