By Lailani Mendoza

COMPLAINTS that came from a handful of parents last year continue to keep students in Central Okanagan School District from offering much-needed gifts to children who won’t otherwise receive any at Christmas.

In October 2007, School District 23 received complaints about Operation Christmas Child (OCC), saying it shouldn’t be part of the public school system – as it was not deemed appropriate for all students.  

The Central Okanagan School District includes public schools in Kelowna, Westbank, Winfield, Peachland and Oyama.  

Operation Christmas Child is a charitable project distributing gifts in shoeboxes during the holidays, to children in developing countries.

It operates under Samaritan’s Purse, a nondenominational Christian organization that provides physical and spiritual aid to people in need all over the world.

Moyra Baxter, School District 23’s chair, said the parents who objected – and local representatives of OCC –  attended board of education meetings to express their perspective on the issue.

The fact that Operation Christmas Child represented a religious organization became a major issue for the parents.

“The main point the parents made was that public schools in British Columbia must not promote any single creed or doctrine,” said Baxter.

The parents cited a  quotation from Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse.

Graham wrote: “Our outreach to these children and their families may begin with a shoebox gift; but our ultimate goal is to open doors to share the good news of Jesus Christ, and to open hearts to receive him as Lord and Saviour.’”

But despite the restriction on religious organizations, the school district’s approved list includes World Vision – a Christian relief organization, much like Samaritan’s Purse.  

The complaints resulted in a policy that specifies criteria for agencies and organizations, governing what public schools can participate in, as approved by the superintendent. Called Policy 731: Community Service and Fundraising by Schools, the policy states, under the Guiding Principles section, that to be approved, programs should be “appropriate to a pluralistic public education setting.”

Some people have the mistaken notion that OCC workers insert religious materials in the shoeboxes before they’re given out. This isn’t true, said Michael Ulrich, communications officer for Operation Christmas Child.

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“People feel that we automatically include a Christian booklet, and we make sure that it is in each of the boxes. We try as much as we can to educate people that that’s not the case at all. The boxes are given regardless of what religion is practiced in the country. The boxes are always given out without any connection to a specific piece of Christian literature.”

A child-friendly booklet that talks about salvation, called The Greatest Gift of All, is sometimes offered  independently of the shoebox distribution when it’s culturally appropriate, added Ulrich.

“It honestly breaks my heart,” said Cheryl Wiebe, a member of the board who was opposed to excluding the project from schools.

“My family actually supports Operation Christmas Child. In fact, my daughter just finished a project where she saved up her own money to buy a water tap through Samaritan’s Purse.”

People who want to participate can still bring their boxes to some local churches, Safeway and Greyhound bus depots.

“The boxes are being given out to kids that, in a lot of cases, have never received any form of gift in their entire lives,” Ulrich emphasized.

“For a child who has never received anything, receiving a box that shows someone somewhere across the world knows they exist and cares about them [enough to] send something – it carries an incredible amount of meaning for that individual child.

“We place an incredible value in sending out these shoeboxes – and most of the time, when people are able to break it down and see the value . . . it’s pretty easy to see the impact that these shoeboxes have. And that’s why people continue to support the program.”

December 2008