Global effort

Dear Editor,

I am writing to thank Warren County residents for sharing the true meaning of Christmas with children around the world. In 2023, churches, groups, businesses, families and individuals in Warren, Crawford and Erie counties donated 17,725 gift-filled shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, a project of international Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse. Over 2240 were sent from Warren County folk, contributing to a total of 40,125 shoebox gifts sent from Northwestern Pennsylvania.

Shoeboxes from Warren, Crawford and Erie counties were sent to children in Peru, Haiti, Colombia, Botswana and Madagascar, as well as other countries. If you printed your shoebox labels from the Follow-Your-Box option on the Samaritan’s Purse website, you can easily find out where your shoebox was sent. Go to www.samaritanspurse.org/occ and select the “Follow Your Box Look Up Tool”. Enter your email address or the number from your label.

These shoeboxes, packed with fun toys, school supplies and hygiene items, bring joy to children in need around the world. Each gift-filled shoebox is a tangible expression of God’s love, and may be the first gift these children have ever received. Thanks to the generosity of donors like the folks in and around Warren County, Operation Christmas Child has collected and delivered more than 220 million gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 170 countries and territories since 1993.

It’s not too late for people to make a difference. Though Warren County drop-off locations are closed until November, anyone can still be a part of this life-changing project by conveniently packing a personalized shoebox gift online at samaritanspurse.org/buildonline.

Thank you again to everyone who participated in this global project — many who do so year after year. These simple gifts, packed with love, send a message to children worldwide that they are loved and not forgotten.

Pam Niedhammer,

Erie

Fit to lead?

Dear Editor,

For years I have wondered where the family is in regard to the care of Joe Biden. The Washington Post recently shared thoughts about his declining mental health, stating that “someone who loves and cares for the president must step in.”

It is inhumane to have him try to continue as president when he so obviously has no ability to carry on with the duties demanded of him. It is heartbreaking to watch the gaffes he makes that are occurring more and more in public; not only is it embarrassing for him, but it is for all of us watching and looking to him as a leader. World dignitaries see this, as well, and must have concerns for our ability to lead in world affairs.

So many problems have arisen since his administration began, and to be fair to him and to the people of this country, he should not be pushed into another term as president. Where are his wife and children in all of this? Love should supersede power and prestige and he should be told, if he can’t decide, that he is no longer eligible to run as president. Actually, he remarked a few years ago that he would only be a one term president and that needs to be upheld.

In my opinion, Socialist — Democrats should insist that he step down; humanity and compassion, not power and party, should prevail.

Norma Bankoske,

Warren