The public will have an opportunity to support Operation Christmas Child during Hometown Halloween Oct. 31 in Covington.
Hometown Halloween will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Main Street. Operation Christmas Child will have a station to allow the public to participate in its shoebox ministry.
Operation Christmas Child, overseen by Samaritans Purse, distributes gift-filled shoeboxes to needy children in 160 countries.
During Hometown Halloween, the public can bring a new item to be placed in a shoebox and receive a special surprise in return. Children will also have an opportunity to fill out a colorful “Let’s Be Friends” sheet that will be placed in a shoebox.
Suggested items that can be donated for shoeboxes include: dolls, foam balls, a small musical instrument such as a harmonica or a woodwind recorder, stuffed animals, combs, hair brushes, bars of soap, wash clothes, a Slinky, stickers, pencils, crayons, small paper tablet and notebooks.
Items must fit in a shoebox. Liquids such as bubbles or toothpaste will not be accepted.
For more information, call (540) 968-0363.