May Item of the Month for OCC Shoeboxes ~ Hygiene Items

Samaritan's Purse has suggested items of the month for packing Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, and for May it is Hygiene items.  This is one of the things you can put in your OCC shoebox that can have an immediate and great impact on the health of the children who get our boxes.  Hand washing can help prevent many diseases including those that kill thousands of children worldwide daily.  That bar of soap & wash cloth you put in might help the child who gets it and their family avoid infection.  Oral hygiene can protect teeth, increasing the verity of food the child can eat, and help their overall nutrition and health.  Even though in USA we can't send toothpaste anymore, we can send toothbrushes, and dentists say that is what is really important. So, will you consider adding hygiene items to your box this year?  It might literally save the life of the child who gets it!  

And, while maybe not lifesaving, items like combs, brushes, and stick (not liquid)
deodorant can help improve the child's self esteem.

But, these aren't just practical items!  Some of us may view packing them a little like giving underclothes at Christmas, and not as fun as other things we put in.  There's two helps for that:  #1 you can try to make these items fun/wow items...a character toothbrush or cap, a patterned or embroidered washcloth, a lightly scented soap, a colorful comb or brush, etc.   #2, remember these children are often in desperate situations where what to us are practical items we take for granted, are to the children quite exciting!

“The toothbrush meant a lot because before I had to share my toothbrush with 25 other girls.”

–Yuri, Honduras (Samaritan's Purse)
And here are three more stories where an hygiene item was especially exciting to the child.

• Evgeniy -and- The Soap
• Ted -and- A Washcloth
• Timur -and- The Toothpaste

**REMEMBER:  No toothpaste (or candy) from the USA this year due to customs issues.

EDITED (to add 3 more stories they've shared)

• Vladimir-and-the Dental Floss
• Dana-and-the Hygiene Items
• Jaki-and-A Toothbrush

We've designed a small drawstring tote bag that is perfect to hold hygiene items in a shoebox and also a super easy to make drawstring bag from a hand towel that is perfect to include with hygiene items in an Operation Christmas Child shoebox.

Photos Courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse.