ELIZABETHTOWN — The annual call for shoeboxes filled with toys and gifts for children is once again going out from Franklin Graham's Samaritan's Purse ministry.

Operation Christmas Child, which delivers holiday cheer to children around the world, is aiming to collect a record 8.2 million shoeboxes this year.

Churches and individual families can prepare shoeboxes filled with toys and other gift items for either a boy or girl, with each box aimed for a different age group. Prohibited items include anything war-related, as well as food, vitamins, medicine, glass containers or liquids.

For information on how to pack a shoebox, go to www.samaritanspurse.org or call 800-353-5949.

One interesting feature is that people who go online to www.samaritanspurse.org and print out a label for their shoebox will be able to actually track the progress of the box and find out which country it is delivered to. The tracking program began last year and was successful. Many will add personal cards, letters or photos with return addresses to personalize the shoeboxes. Thank you letters from the children who receive the shoeboxes are not uncommon.

Operation Christmas Child is worldwide, with shoeboxes going to 100 countries on six continents. There is a special emphasis on areas where war and poverty steal childhood joy.

Bladen County's Relay Center, where shoeboxes will be collected, is Fellowship Bible Church located on Alexander St. (off N.C. 87) near the Elizabethtown Airport. The Relay Center will be open to accept shoeboxes Monday through Friday, Nov. 16 through Nov. 20, from 4 until 7 p.m. It will also be open Saturday, Nov. 21, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and on Sunday, Nov. 22, from 2 until 6 p.m. Sunday will be the final opportunity to drop off shoe boxes. Any boxes packed after Nov. 22 must be mailed directly to Samaritan's Purse at 801 Bamboo Road, Boone, 28607.

If assistance is needed picking up shoe boxes, please call the Relay Center coordinator Pat Warwick at 645-4596 to schedule a pick up.