The drawers are neatly labeled “boy” or “girl” and are filled with toys and other trinkets.

A tub holds rolls of festive wrapping paper.

Plastic shoe boxes full of these items are stacked neatly along the wall.

On another shelf, neatly organized plastic shoe boxes and lids await filling.

Iva Jeanne Hill has taken Christmas into her own hands.

The Albert Lea woman is spearheading an effort for Samaritan Purse’s Operation Christmas Child, an effort that collects gift-filled shoe boxes for poor children throughout the world.

Hill said she first got involved with the effort in 1995 or 1996, when her church, First Presbyterian, decided to collect filled shoe boxes for the charity as one of its projects.

“The first year, I did one box, and the next year, two or three,” Hill recalled.

Since then, Hill has made a point to make a few more boxes each year. Last year, between her and church members, 119 boxes were sent out.

“A lot of people at church wanted to be involved, but didn’t necessarily want to go shopping. So I made a general announcement that I would shop if people wanted to give me the money,” she said.

She is opening her offer to the public as well, she added.

From church members who are interested, she asks $10 for the content of a box, plus $7 for shipping. If people can’t afford the shipping, she will still make a box. She holds an annual rummage sale to raise money for shipping. She and her husband, Erwin, once sold a pair of mo-peds and another time a glass-topped table and donated the money for postage.

“We’re doing it for the children,” she said.

She said there are also people who like to shop, but don’t like to make a box. She’ll help them, too. She also invites organizations to get involved.

People can fill boxes for boys or girls in the following age groups: 2 to 4 years; 5 to 9 years; and 10 to 14 years. They should specify which age category and boy or girl.

The boxes, which can either be plastic or a regular shoe box that has been wrapped (but must have a removable top wrapped separately), include a few personal care items, including toothbrushes donated by Dr. Steve Schwartz, as well as toothpaste and soap. But mostly, they include toys, Hill said. She includes about 20 items in each box.

“I like to give the kids something fun,” she said. “In many cases, they’re just surviving. There is no money for the extras.”

She always includes a coloring book and crayons. She said she’s learned that crayons cost $5 a box in India, while the weekly wage is only $1. She can purchase them on back-to-school sales for 25 cents each, she added.

She’ll also include hard candy, school supplies, art supplies, flashlights and batteries, dolls, yo-yos, jump ropes, calculators, brushes and combs, dress-up items, tape measures, Play-Doh, jewelry for the girls and cars for the boys and Beanie Babies, as well as other small items like Christmas ornaments. All items must be new, Hill said.

“It’s really up to each person what they want to put in,” she said.

There are a few items that can’t be sent, she said. The boxes should not contain any liquid, glass or soft candy. Also, military, Pokemon and Harry Potter items and toy snakes are not acceptable, she said.

People can also put clothing in, but clothing is a gamble, Hill said, since one never knows if it will actually fit the child who gets the box.

Hill takes the boxes to a loading site in Rochester. From there, all boxes are inspected at the regional collection center in Minneapolis and any items like those listed will be taken out and donated to other organizations. “Nothing is wasted,” she said.

Otherwise, whatever is in the boxes stays in the boxes, Hill said.

Hill buys items on sale in quantity whenever she finds a good deal. When plastic boxes go on sale, she buys those too. She pre-cuts wrapping paper to go inside the plastic boxes to add a festive touch. It’s not necessary that people do this, she said, but it adds something, she said.

The Hills also put a note inside each box telling where it came from, which they encourage others to do. They try to stay away from religious messages. They’ve gotten thank-you notes back from Poland, the Ukraine, Latvia, the Philippines and India.

Anyone who is interested in making a box for Operation Christmas Child or having Hill make one may drop the boxes or money off at Hill, Larson, Walth & Benda at 214 W. Main St. during business hours, or at the Hill home, 410 Meredith Road, before the end of the month. Please call 373-0840 before dropping off money or items at their home.

Hill plans to drive the filled boxes to Rochester in early November.

“I’m hoping I have to go every day,” she said.