TULSA, Okla. - The Oral Roberts University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee recently spread some Christmas cheer by participating in Operation Christmas Child, a global outreach initiative that sends shoeboxes filled with items to children in need throughout the world. The ORU SAAC collected six shoe boxes and over $200 to distribute around the globe.

The Operation Christmas Child project was part of the Southland Conference’s efforts to contribute to the charity.

ORU SAAC members began collecting items for shoe boxes at the beginning of November and filled six boxes with gifts, toys, toiletries and clothes. The boxes were mailed to Operation Christmas Child over the weekend.

“It was very rewarding to give back to kids that don’t have what we do,” said senior cross country runner Casady Ashcraft, a SAAC representative. “Helping children in need experience the joy of Christmas is something I was privileged to participate in."

The ORU branch of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is overseen by business professor Terry Unruh, who also serves as ORU’s Faculty Athletics Representative.