![Ruth Bratcher, left, and Anita Lynch, co-chairmen of Artesia’s Operation Christmas Child effort, stand with some of the boxes already packed for this year’s event. Grace Miller - Daily Press](https://artesianews.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/2013-Operation-Christmas-Child--426x400.jpg)
By GRACE MILLER
Daily Press Staff Writer
Imagine a child, be it your child or one on another continent, at Christmas with no present to open. In the face of this bleak picture, Artesia began participating in the Samaritan’s Purse relief organization’s Operation Christmas Child in 2009.
Samaritan’s Purse hopes to reach a total of 100 million gift-filled shoeboxes this year. According to its website, there are more than 2,300 relay centers in the United States participating in the project. … For the rest of the story, subscribe in print and on the web.