Inside a cavernous unfinished portion of the Christian Fellowship Church in Ashburn, six neat stacks of wrapped shoe boxes are waiting. The boxes are empty now, but they'll soon be filled with toys for children who might not get anything else on Christmas day.
Six years ago Eileen Murray and Diane Rapagna garnered inspiration from a Samaritan's Purse project called Operation Christmas Child that sent toy-filled shoe boxes to underprivileged children around the world. The two women wondered if a similar undertaking could make an impact closer to home.
"We had lunch and thought, gosh, why can't we do this for our area," Rapagna said.
Murray and Rapagna set up camp in Rapagna's kitchen, and the Love Box was born.
"We just started wrapping," said Murray.
SINCE THEN, the Love Box has delivered nearly 9,000 shoe boxes filled with approximately $50 worth of toys each. Boxes have gone to children supported by LINK, an interdenominational network of church volunteers, as well as the Hope Center in Washington, D.C., and the Fairfax Abuse Center for Children. More distant locales like the Mountain Mission School in Grundy, Va., and Tijuana, Mexico have also received boxes.
"So far, we've never turned anybody down," Murray said.
The project has grown from 650 boxes in 1998 to 1,200 in 2003. Murray picks up free boxes in her van at the outlet mall in Leesburg. At Christian Fellowship Church, where both women are members, a cadre of volunteers wraps each box, which are then divided by age and gender. Some boxes are sent out with volunteers from the church and elsewhere to be filled privately; others are filled with donated toys from other organizations.
Despite the Love Box's growing success, it has remained a very local effort. Murray reports that the larger companies she has approached about donations have been less than forthcoming.
"It's been a little frustrating for us," she said. "We've gone to Wal-Mart and asked for donations and they say they've given away all their toys."
The Love Box has rarely promoted itself because, Murray said, they were concerned about handling a deluge of requests. Now, with several years' practice under their belt, Murray and Rapagna are going a bit more public. They'll have an informational booth at the Dulles Town Center's Family Fest Aug. 14 where potential volunteers can sign up for a very hands-on job.
Murray, Rapagna and a small crew of volunteers (like many small charities, a rotating larger group of help comes and goes; the core group, Murray said, is less than a dozen regulars) wrap, pack and sometimes repack every box that passes through. That ensures that every child gets a full box.
It also makes for some long nights in the church's windowless, powerless unfinished wing.
"Humble beginnings are a good thing," Rapagna said.
LAST YEAR, the Love Box provided a helping hand to LINK, a volunteer network of 14 churches.
Organizers realized that LINK might not be able to serve hundreds of children registered for their twice-yearly food, clothing and toy drive. The Love Box came to the rescue with 745 shoe boxes of toys.
"They did come through," said Mark Gunderman, who serves on the LINK board of directors.
Since LINK is a Christian organization, it melds well with the Love Box's message, Gunderman said.
"They do put scripture in the boxes," he said. "That bothers a lot of people, but it doesn't bother us."
Joy Trickett, who also serves on the LINK board, is so enamored of the Love Box that she's spending time wrapping boxes as well.
"It's been a delightful thing to have," she said. "It's really a wonderful, wonderful program."