December 2003 - Despite the constant ringing of bells outside the stores where we shop, it's easy to forget those less fortunate than us during the holiday season. This year, you have the chance to reach out to people beyond your own neighborhood, beyond even the borders of your country.

The Youth Group at Great Falls United Methodist Church in Great Falls, Va., is collecting items for a church and nursery school in a poverty-stricken region of Ghana. This program was started by a native Ghanaian who now resides in Northern Virginia and regularly purchases what she can afford at yard sales and mails it back to her hometown. She is employed by one of the church's members who directed the youth's attention to this wonderful opportunity.

In addition to all the regular types of things collected in this type of drive - lightweight clothes in good condition, new hygiene items, shoes, and powdered milk - the Youth Group is also looking for action figures, which is where we come in.

All of us have tons of action figures. Those of us who have been collecting for years have things stored in boxes that we haven't thought about in ages. Things that, if we're honest with ourselves, we'd never miss if they were gone: All those figures that were overbought by scalpers and will never be worth more than a few dollars; all those things that we hold onto because we've had them for so long, even if we don't care about them any more.

Now's your chance to free up some precious storage space and do something good at the same time. Donate those old toys to kids halfway around the world who would love to have them. Make space in your collection for new and better things, and do something nice for your fellow man.

Toys should be in good condition. Please do not include anything related to war (weapons, soldiers, etc.) or any toys that require batteries to operate. If you want to include the aforementioned clothes, hygiene products, shoes or powdered milk, you can do that as well. As it is expensive to mail boxes to Africa, donations for postage will also be accepted (checks should be made out to Great Falls UMC with "Project Ghana Postage" in the memo).

Donations should be mailed to the following address:

Project Ghana
Great Falls United Methodist Church
10100 Georgetown Pike
Great Falls, VA 22066
ATTN: Briana Guthrie

Since you're clearing off your shelves to help others, the least we at OAFEnet can do is help you fill those shelves back up. Everyone who makes a donation will have the chance to win. If you're sending a box, include a note with your name and email address (printed legibly) and tell us that you heard about the project through www.oafe.net

At the end of each month, we'll randomly pick one of our donors and hook them up with something cool as our way of saying thanks. Our prizes have been donated by Art Asylum (http://www.artasylum.com/) and Palisades (http://www.palisadestoys.com). Why Art Asylum and Palisades? Because they care. Why not use some of your new-found shelfspace to show them your thanks in return?

If you need more information or have a question, please email Briana Guthrie, the Great Falls UMC youth director, at [email protected] or call 703-759-3137.