Big plastic bins are filling up at Michael and Marika Chasse’s home in Johns Creek. Spiral notebooks, tiny baby dolls, bars of soap and flip flops may still be in a jumble, but they will have a place.
Marika Chasse describes her house as “a hot mess” right now, “like a bomb went off in it.”
All this stuff will soon be gone – packed into 1,000 shoeboxes and sent as Christmas gifts worldwide for children who face hardships.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
For the past six years, the Chasses have hosted a packing party for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian international relief organization.
All year long, a dedicated group seeks out clearance aisles and collects donations.
Ellen Scantland of Ball Ground will be sewing 40 zippered tool bags as gifts for older boys. Christy Mackley of Johns Creek has been collecting shoeboxes, and shoes, all year. And Mackley’s mother from Florida is gathering donated costume jewelry.
Some have opened their homes to store pallets of bulk items, and everyone chips in for expenses, including the $9-per-box shipping fee.
"Marika’s enthusiasm is so contagious, it’s hard not to stay involved,” said Mackley, a neighbor who has participated since the beginning.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
For Marika Chasse, filling shoeboxes is a full-time, year-round joy that keeps her mind off the pain and disability of cervical dystonia, a chronic neurological disorder she’s endured for almost a decade.
For the first two years of her illness, she was practically bed-ridden, and now, though much better, Chasse said she is not able to drive or continue her career in ophthalmology.
“I lost everything that I thought defined me, but I’m finding my new self through this," she said. "Operation Christmas Child has given me a way to contribute.”
Long before her illness struck, a friend invited Chasse to participate in a shoebox project. She filled her box, then helped out at the Atlanta-based Operation Christmas Child Southeast distribution center, sorting and inspecting boxes in preparation for shipping.
Chasse remembers how exciting it was, like working in Santa’s workshop: “I was like a kid. I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face.”
After Chasse learned that these simple gifts could change a child’s life, she wanted to do more. She served as a year-round volunteer for Operation Christmas Child for a time, but that, too, had to stop when she fell ill.
“When I was so sick, not having the strength to take a shower, my husband would tell me: ‘Operation Christmas Child was something that used to make you happy, find a way to get involved,’” recalled Chasse.
At first, it was getting her church to participate. Chasse remembers seeing stacks of filled shoeboxes in the sanctuary, remembering her physical suffering and thinking: “I am so grateful for this disease to change even one child’s life.”
When the church stopped participating, the Chasses started their shoebox project and asked neighbors and friends to help. Their annual packing party has grown exponentially since 2014, from 125 shoeboxes filled that first year to now just over 1,000 boxes.
While contents vary, all boxes will include hygiene items, school supplies, some footwear, and something to love.
“We just stand amazed,” Marika Chasse said. “We’ve gotten huge donations from Walmart (this year); in years past, we’ve gotten big donations from Target.”
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
This year’s packing party will be a socially-distanced, two-day event. Still, large crowds are expected, as friends invite friends. Participants will file into the Chasse home and, going bin to bin, will pack shoeboxes then stack them in a rented U-Haul to be taken to a collection site.
As soon as the boxes leave the house, plans for next year begin, says Ellen Scantland, who has also been part of the team since its beginning. "It feels like one big worldwide hug,” she said.
Marika explains it this way: “We have a front-row seat for things God can do through like-minded people. It’s just incredible.”
WHAT IS INSPIRATIONAL ABOUT OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD?
The people: “It’s a collaborative group, a village of people who feel compelled to do something. Everyone does their part. We have people who can’t purchase a single thing, but they will come and put boxes together.” Marika Chasse
“This is something in which every person can participate. You can feel yourself being part of the body of Christ.” Ellen Scantland
When packing, "some people will follow a theme and rearrange items so that their box will hold just what they’ve selected. It really shows the heart of people who fill these boxes.” Christy Mackley
The gifts: “I’ve vowed that there’s not a box going out of my house that doesn’t have something in it to put on feet. To do this is very costly. One lady has personally bought several hundred pairs of shoes online and had them shipped to us. It’s pretty amazing.” Marika Chasse
How to participate: There’s still time to pack your own shoebox. Here’s a way to do it all online. www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/buildonline/
HELP US INSPIRE ATLANTA
We recognize a big part of our journalistic mission is to shine a spotlight on wrongdoings and to hold our public officials accountable.
But we also understand the importance of celebrating our region’s moments, milestones and people. That’s exactly what we hope to accomplish with Inspire Atlanta.
Each week, Inspire Atlanta will profile a person who makes metro Atlanta a better place in which to live.
We can’t do this alone: We need your help in finding extraordinary people and identifying inspiring stories across our region. We learned about the Chasses from Leigh Ann Harvey, who attends church with the Chasses and knew of their dedication to this project.
Know someone who inspires you or makes metro Atlanta a better place for others?
Email us at AJC-InspireAtlanta@ajc.com.
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