Shoeboxes arrive at Spirit Lake Ministry Center and are sorted by volunteers. Photos from Spirit Lake Ministry's Facebook page.

More than 5,000 Shoebox Christmas gifts were donated and distributed to reservations in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. On the reservation, up to 70 percent of the children would not get a Christmas gift if not for the Shoebox Christmas Gift program and the generosity of those who donate.

The giving hearts inspired Kim and Paulette, the co-directors at Spirit Lake Ministry Center and volunteers who stepped forward to share the love of God.

"We know people were worried that the program might not continue. When they heard it was, we began receiving gifts and heard the appreciation in their voices," Paulette. "It was amazing to see the gifts come in and experience the joy on faces as we shared them." 

Shoebox Christmas is a program that provides Christmas gifts to needy children across the reservation communities and beyond. In South Dakota, the Rosebud reservation, and the Enemy Swim School near Sisseton received gifts. In North Dakota, the Spirit Lake Nation, the Turtle Mountain, and the Standing Rock reservations received gifts and schools. In Minnesota, the Red Lake Reservation received gifts. Several organizations for families and children in all three states also received gifts.

How it works

Each fall, churches across the Dakotas Conference collect the wrapped shoeboxes and bring them to designated collection sites. Collection sites this year were North Highland UMC, Aberdeen, South Dakota; McCabe UMC, Bismarck, North Dakota; First UMC, Fargo, North Dakota; Zion UMC, Grand Forks, North Dakota; First UMC, Jamestown, North Dakota; Vincent UMC, Minot, North Dakota; Dakotas Conference Office, Mitchell, South Dakota; First UMC, Pierre, South Dakota; Canyon Lake UMC, Rapid City, South Dakota; and Sunnycrest UMC, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Shoebox Christmas happens because of the volunteers.

Several churches from outside the Dakotas are vital partners to Shoebox Christmas. Deborah and Michael Jehl, from Michigan, traveled throughout the Dakotas Conference to pick up Shoebox Christmas gifts. Andy and Jenny Lindstrom came from Illinois and brought 1,500 Shoebox gifts from churches.

Gifts delivered to Spirit Lake are sorted into age categories, and the story of Jesus's birth is added to each gift. Students from the home school association in Fargo, North Dakota, help sort. The Devils Lake High School DIFY class —Do It for You, also came to sort. 

"We had some wonderful groups come out and help us sort the gifts. We had some young girls from the Journey congregation at Spirit Lake who are in college help with our daughters. We ask for help, and people step up," said Paulette and Kim.

Gifts are distributed to reservations by the Paulsons, individual volunteers, and congregations. First UMC in Pierre distributes Shoebox Christmas gifts to Tree of Life in Mission, South Dakota. North Highland UMC in Aberdeen distributes gifts to Enemy Swim Day School in northeast South Dakota. New recipients this year were Headstart on Spirit Lake Nation. 

A Fresh Expression of a long-standing mission

101 Shoebox Christmas gifts from the challenge at Rapid Valley UMC. Photos courtesy of Rapid Valley UMC.

Rapid Valley United Methodist Church in Rapid City, South Dakota, has provided shoeboxes to local non-profit organizations for 15 years. This year, they took the idea of Elf-On-A Shelf and added it to their mission goal of 100 shoeboxes.

With every shoebox donated, "Rusty the Elf" climbed up the candy cane using gift tags for children ages Infant to 18. Surpassing the goal of 100 boxes, Rapid Valley soon realized they would need a bigger candy cane. More than 100 shoeboxes were delivered to local non-profits: Youth and Family Services, Working Against Violence Inc., Cornerstone Home, Church Response, and Rapid City Regional West.

"It was such a joy to distribute 101 gifts to the local non-profit organizations in our community," said Rev. Quaya Ackerman, Rapid Valley UMC.

Shoebox Christmas gifts were delivered to the kindergarten students at Devils Lake, N.D. "Devils Lake serves a lot of Native American children. We had some extra boxes for children in that age group. We contacted the school and told the teacher we would love to share them with the class. She asked, "Could we get five to ten?" I said you can get more than that. We gave them 100 boxes. The teacher was so excited she could hardly wait to tell the principal the good news," shared Paulette.

"Thank you to all the churches and individuals that made Shoebox Christmas possible this year," said Kim.