Sending Filler to the Operation Christmas Child Processing Center - 2021

[@spray3716]

Thank you for telling us we can donate fillers. This is my first time to participate in OCC. As I await the items I ordered I've been worried that everything won't fit in the shoe boxes. Now I'm relieved to know the overflow can still be used in another box at the processing center.

[@drogers]

Overflow can definitely be used at your PC!!!! OCC does a great job with filler and corporate donations, but trust me more is always welcomed and needed! Thank you! 😊

[@kimmclean9933]

Great ideas! I will be sending fillers this year for the first time. Thanks for sharing! 😊🙏

[@drogers]

Hey Kim! I will do another filler video this year also! It is so needed! So many boxes come through half empty. Thank you for doing filler this year! 💕

[@LindaPartin-y1r]

It's almost 2024 and I just found your video. Thanks for the tips. I love the toilet paper roll for paper. I have 10 month to save rolls. In a few weeks paper will be in clearance. Already thinking of stuffies in clearance after Valentine's Day. Thanks again

[@drogers]

Welcome!!! Glad you found me! I’ll have more to share in 2024! ❤️

[@LindaPartin-y1r]

@@drogers I'll be watching. Love getting helpful hints.

[@simple_creative_boxes]

I really love these. Sometimes I find myself with a lot of things.... but not enough boxes, shipping costs or complete packs for a whole box. This is perfect! And I believed really shows faith to empty your storage and get these out to kids!

[@drogers]

I have soooo much I need to let go of! I keep thinking well what if I do a theme next year that might use it… well that’s just silly because so many boxes need filler. I just have to let go! Lol. TFW!🥰

[@grissellebetancourt2110]

Great ideas and inspiration! Thanks for sharing.

[@drogers]

You are so welcome!

[@GraceMurdick]

Wow, you have such great ideas. You are so needed to this organization. God bless you for all your work.

[@drogers]

Thank you Grace! You are so sweet! 🥰

[@dianaruthshoeboxes]

What a wonderful video! Love how you talked about the integrity of the box. I always pray I get a nice lady or man inspecting my box.😳 Thank you for your service at the processing center for 10 years...wow! I love the idea of adding note cards in the pencil pouches. Great idea adding the play doh with cards and a cutter! I'm doing Legos in containers for boy fillers this year. 😊 Oh those little boats are adorable and all those stuffies. Yay! Fantastic job, Denise👍👏☺️

[@drogers]

Thank you Diana! I hope it is helpful and encourages more donations of filler, if not this year, maybe the next. And yay for legos! It’s such a universal toy that I think would be perfect for filler. DT helps with lowering the cost and making it feasible. Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment! 🥰

[@surfergirl326]

Thanks for sharing all your Pencil pack idea.😊

[@drogers]

You are so welcome! 💕

[@NikiChicote]

i love the crayon in a baggie idea! i love your pencil packs, they look so fun... i did mini packs for the 1st time this year, also in support of the granny and friends initiative... thanks for sharing your great ideas Denise, you're always so helpful! 💖💖💖

[@drogers]

Yay for pencil packs for Pencil Granny! That’s so wonderful Niki! Bless you for your contributions! It is soooo needed! Thanks for watching Niki and taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it!

[@dalehighnote6958]

Thank you for the encouraging video. I have concentrated heavy on filler items on clearance this year due to the videos that you ladies have been sharing. I appreciate all of the knowledge that you share with us.

[@drogers]

Thank you Dale! I’m so glad to hear this! God bless you for your filler donations! They will be such a blessing at your PC!

[@soniasshoeboxesocc-ninodel3987]

Thanks for the reminder, Denise! Great reminder❤️❤️❤️. Next week will finish packing all my fillers! What a great feeling! More space for future purchases….LOL! Was working in my garage this morning packing fillers. Doggy sitting friend’s dog that all it wants to do is get to the plushies…LOL! I almost packed (Sadie) the dog! 🐶 Bless you for your encouragement and giving ❤️. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@drogers]

😂🤣😂oh my goodness, they will fire you if you pack their dog! You crack me up! Yes! Pack those fillers away! That will give you more space for our OCC obsessed shopping next year!!!❤️

[@fedwards2023]

Hi Denise, Thanks for sharing some great ideas about filler. I've packed age and/or gender specific pencil packs. Each of these have been marked and placed in small "Filler" boxes also marked with the age and/or gender. For items like colouring books and pencils, I have used large zip-lock bags to keep the items together. And for items of clothing, I have placed a sticker on them and written the target age group. In my largest filler box, I have shoes with 2 pairs of socks, water bottles and tennis balls. I may also add a few tote bags. In deciding if I have surplus supplies, I've started packing my 2022 boxes. Strangely, I am needing hygiene and school supplies. 🤷‍♀️ 🤪

[@drogers]

Bless your heart Fiona for all of the filler donations! Ziplocks are a great idea also. You sound very filler organized! They are going to love you at the AU PC!!!! Way to go friend! ❤️

[@brendaalbers8999]

Thanks for this video,this is our second year for send ing fillers love that so many u tubers are saying about the need for them.We are sending college ruled spiral notebooks,flannel blankets for 2-4,100 pencil packs,wooden puzzles for little ones,pit balls,hair and necklace items for 5-9,and other small bags of needed items.Thanks so much for making us aware of the need.Love and God Bless our OCC community💖💙💝

[@drogers]

Brenda! God bless you! Those are wonderful filler items! I forgot to mention the pit balls, that’s an awesome filler! And pencil packs! Hurray!!!! So badly needed! These are all wonderful ideas! I wish you could have the video with me! 🥰 Much love and thanks to you too!

[@federicacesari6392]

I'm new to your channel 😍 I can't stop watching your videos..you're so organized..this is my first year making boxes for OCC UK , I was looking for ideas and your channel grabbed all my attention 🥰 keep going you're doing an amazing job ❤️ kisses from London 😘

[@drogers]

Thank you Federica! Welcome! Thanks for watching and commenting! I really appreciate it! This is my first year filming but I’ve been packing boxes for 12 years! Hugs from Maryland in the USA! 💕

[@maritzacopping3976]

Denise, thank you for sharing your experience. You make wonderful fillers. And thank you for mentioning the boys.

[@drogers]

Thanks Maritza! Boys always seem harder to find filler for. I forgot to mention sending extra balls! I have a whole box of them I got on clearance. My home is just filled with cardboard boxes everywhere right now🤣😂🤣!! TFW! ❤️

[@maritzacopping3976]

@@drogers balls are a perfect filler for boys. And my house is in the situation as yours! Boxes everywhere!

[@SotoCreates]

Really helpful Denise!! I’m hoping to make fillers for the processing center this year!! Really grate tips and information on what to send!! TFS and Crafty hugs ❤️🤗!!

[@drogers]

Great!!! I’m so glad it was helpful! I love sending filler and it is so needed! TFW crafty friend! 🤗

[@melodymills5432]

Last year I made over 100 hygiene kits and 100 school kits to send for fillers. I won't be able to do that much this year, but of course will keep my eye out for any great deals to send to the distribution center. Loved hearing your firsthand experience on the distribution center and fillers.

[@drogers]

Wow! What blessings you made for boxes that needed it! God bless you! It is so needed! I am led even more every year to donate more filler after I work at the processing center. Every little bit helps. Thanks Melody!

[@hootnanny1315]

Great video for ideas of sending filler. In the small pencil packs, do you fold notebook paper into very slim folds? Thanks for the info on how to use ALL that we were blessed with in a year.

[@drogers]

Thank you for watching! Yes, I always try to add paper to my pencil packs even if that means folding it up into slim folds. I hope that helps! God bless you for packing and sending filler! 💕

[@FoothillsFamily365]

I loved all these ideas! They stuffies are all so nice! ❤💚

[@drogers]

Thanks Jessica! I hope it was helpful!❤️

[@eastcoaststories]

Great video, Denise! I also plan to do a filler video but my filler is not nearly as nice as yours! Lol. Love the sewing kits, pencil packs, and LEGO kits! I agree that there’s not a lot of older kids’ filler at the processing center. And that it’s so fast pace. Thank you for showing your thoughtful and much needed filler! ✏️🧸

[@drogers]

Thanks Sharon! Right??? It goes soooo fast and I’m always wishing for more of a variety of filler to choose from! Especially the older kids! Any and ALL filler is needed! That’s why when I see people fussing over our shoebox choices I say to myself, Have they EVER been to a PC? 😂😅 TFW!!!!🥰

[@charlottesshoeboxes3230]

Such a good reminder to send filler.

[@bluffcitybounty2122]

Great job with your filler, Denise!

[@drogers]

Thanks Morgan! Hope your packing is going well!

[@dawnepayne1314]

Denise, Thanks so much for all the great ideas! I’ve been looking thru my stash trying to decide what to send as fillers🤔. Currently, I have pencil packs and old navy flip flops(I was blessed to be able to order extra black, white and grey flip flops off the old navy website for .47 a pair). I decided to order 2 big boxes full of flip flops for fillers! Each pair came wrapped in plastic and all the sizes are mixed! Now you got me thinking 🤔…if I have time I will sort them! I love the idea of the toilet paper holder for paper! I will definitely be making some of them! Question: does the processing center need packages of paper? I don’t have extra notebooks but have plenty of packages of paper! Thanks so much for sharing these ideas! This really helps! 💜💜💜 PS…. I’m going to get my hubby busy packing building block kits!🤣🤣🤣

[@drogers]

Dawne! Awesome! What blessings you will be providing! Good job getting the hubby involved! I do too! Yes, the PC can use packs of paper! It will be a great item to add! Once we got a whole package of paper at my station… we actually opened it up and shared it amongst the boxes but they could also add a whole pack to a box! Thank you for doing this! 💕

[@dawnepayne1314]

Hey Denise, I just wanted to let you know that my Walmart had 500 sheets of college ruled paper packages for .75! I thought that was a great price so I got some more packages for the processing center! Thought you might want to know just in case anyone is looking for more paper! 💜💜💜

[@drogers]

Thank you so much Dawne! I will have to be on the lookout! Thanks for the tip!!!

[@maybellinelover]

A few years ago I went to a church. Our Sunday school class decided to do 30 boxes (15 for girls and 15 for boys). Each person in the class was supposed to bring stuff for the boxes. I spent $40 expecting that each person would have to spend at least a $1 per box. The boxes we assembled were pathetic. I was kinda embarrassed about the whole thing. They were half-full without anything interesting in them. One person brought their child's old McDonald's toys. It was the only 'fun' thing in the boxes. I told my husband we'd never do it that way again. We'll pack a box, but we're not going to make them group projects. If you processed those boxes, that's why they were half-full.

[@drogers]

Awww…thanks for sharing that. Your heart was in it though. It happens. I’m sure filler was used to make those boxes more full. All we can do is continue to educate and encourage groups to pack more personal, fun and yes…full boxes. Bless you for giving it your best and for packing. 💕

[@marieterry625]

Loved the video and all of your ideas. If you ever come up with more ideas, please share. I need all the help I can get!

[@drogers]

Thanks Marie! I will do another filler video later this year! Hopefully with a few new ideas!

[@lovelittletreasures9733]

Great idea to do this video, Denise! 😃 Will share on my wall. TFS! ~Rosy

[@drogers]

Thanks Rosy!

[@byrdfeed9071]

Wonderful video Denise with so much great information for everyone, including me, who has never been to a processing center before. I love the notebook paper/toilet paper roll hack and the little clear, vinyl bags from DT used for sewing kits. I don’t know how many times I’ve looked at those and wondered what I could use them for. They are PERFECT for a sewing kit, particularly if wanting to add fabric. I may borrow that one. I had intended to do a video of what I put in my filler boxes, but not sure I’m going to get to it before collection week. So glad you did this one. Question: say I am donating a lot of clothing & socks, for instance. Is it best to separate them out into separate boxes labeled by age/gender, or is it best to just send all in one box and and let them separate?

[@drogers]

Thanks Trish! Either way you decide to send the clothing is fine. They have special assigned volunteers to go through all of the donated fillers, sort them and mark them. If you CAN put one age group in a box, or each bagged up separately, that’s great! But not necessary. I like to rubber band the clothing with a size tag attached but I don’t honestly always have the time to do that. This reminds me that I need to go through my clothing! Yikes… that can take some time. I better get moving! I found the sewing kit idea from a Facebook group. I thought it was a great idea because like you I kept seeing those bags! I used one in a box for Barbie clothes snd accessories but I love the sewing kit idea. Worked well! Glad the video helped! 🥰

[@bernievandewalker1420]

Thank You for all the good ideas. I have gloves that were two pairs for .10 so if they will separate them at the PC I will send them.

[@drogers]

Wonderful!!!! Yes, they have workers especially for this assignment. They will a great filler to add! God bless you!

[@GraceMurdick]

Thankyou I will be looking for some stuff. When school stuff comes up on sale. Believe it or not I got good deals yesterday at Walmart's. Clothes & summer toy alot was $1.00. I was so excited. Some was more all good deals for my boxes. All I need to do is get my boxes now.

[@sk8rmom222]

Can I ask this? If you send in an outfit in a bag or several related toys in a bag, is the bag just put in the box, or are the items taken out? I hesitate to write on the bags bc I would hate the child to think anything about something saying "Boy 5-9" or whatever. It seems impersonal if they receive that. IDK. Am I worrying about nothing? Also, some videos of the processing centers show boxes being closed up that I would have added more items to for sure if available. Hopefully, the instructions are to fill up as much as possible. I would be terrible on the line bc I would NOT be fast enough. All I can see with a closed box is a little kid's face on the other end. I have no medium button at all. LOLOL. I laugh, but that actually bugs me about myself bc I would LOVE to serve in the operation center! God bless you for all your hard work for OCC!!!

[@drogers]

Working in the processing center can be a challenge. While we try to fill a box up as much as possible many times we are short on filler or short of the right kind of filler and sometimes our coaches even tell us only make the box 2/3 full or replace Inappropriate items. So yes when you work the processing center you have to have a strong heart and sometimes it’s hard on me too. when we get a box or bag of filler that has grouped items together that’s obviously been donated by somebody. We try to keep all of those items together, I think it’s perfectly fine if it says the boys age on it. I wouldn’t worry about that too much. If it means the right type of items going into the right age group, I think it’s worth it. The line moves very very fast and by putting the age and or sex on the bag is a huge help! Hope this answers your questions and thanks for asking!!!

[@sk8rmom222]

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer. It does help. I can clearly see your heart for this ministry, and that's why I asked you. I was wondering if the reason was lack of the right kind of fillers. It makes me sad to see a few of the less-full boxes. I'm on a mission to send a TON of filler. It's hard to store, though. I'm in Florida with no basement. Agh! Have a great day today!! :)

[@drogers]

it just depends on what is distributed into our bins that day. for example, one day we might have mostly boy items in our bins and we are desperately looking for girls items or stuffy’s. Then the next time I go to process it might be all girl items in the bins and there’s not enough boy items. we can ask our coach to look for more items, but usually they want you to use up what’s in your bins before they give you new bins. It can be very frustrating. I just always pray about it and hope that the items that I put into a box at the PC will bless a child in some way.

[@sk8rmom222]

For sure they will be blessed no matter what. I can only imagine how frustrating it is, though, for a perfectionist heart to not be able to have what's needed. You do an EXCELLENT job at getting interest up for fillers. At this point, I enjoy thinking those up the most, though I have a monstrous amount of toys for boxes piling up. I need to get to work so I don't run out of time. I made your memory wire bracelets and also am working on some ribbon dancers. Just know you are adding to the kingdom with your work!!! Thank you so much. You are appreciated!!

[@drogers]

Oh you said it! 😂 Perfectionist heart! I’m trying to pack up as much filler now also so I don’t run out of time! Oh! I’m so happy to hear you made some memory bracelets! They are so easy and fun! Thanks for sharing and thank you for your sweet words!❤

[@valswain]

These are all such great filler items! I am also using those pencil boxes we got for $1 at Michaels with the school supplies in them but also adding more school supplies and even a small stuffy or beanie baby and other fun things. Do you think those are too bulky to be useful as filler?

[@drogers]

No, not too bulky! those will be awesome filler boxes! I’ve done pencil boxes before! You would be shocked at how empty a box can be and that could be just the thing a box needs! Bless you for your donations!

[@kristinesharp6286]

I bought a big pack of cello bags off Walmart. They fit a notebook with pens or a coloring book with crayons. That way the filler is a writing and paper item together. A coloring book at dollar tree is $1.25. A box of crayons now around 50cents. Under 2 dollars a great filler. A notebook is 50 cents or less and a pack of pens $1. Inside a cello another filler under $2. 100 bags costs $15. I will have a few years. I do put crayons in another sandwich size zip lock I worry about melting. I have done a pack of 12 crayola color pencils for a dollar, a composition notebook a pencil sharpener all in a cello bag for just over $2. They are flat to fit on top but also seem huge enough to seem to take up space.

[@drogers]

This is awesome! Thank you so much for packing filler!! This sounds wonderful! It is so needed And your packaged items of coloring book, crayons or notebook and pens will be so welcomed at the Processing Center! Great job using the bags to keep it all together! God bless you! 💕

[@kristinesharp6286]

@@drogers I am sorry I got them from Amazon.

[@GraceMurdick]

What if we have no processing center near us. Could we send them with our boxes with the church boxes. Put filler on them?

[@drogers]

Yes! Take them to your closest church drop off point marked FILLER in large letters. They can forward them to the Processing Center for you.🥰