As the school year approaches, shoebox packers are making use of back-to-school prices to purchase gifts and essential items for children in need around the world. Residents in Richmond are collecting school supplies, along with personal care items and toys, to pack in shoeboxes. Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, will deliver these gift-filled shoeboxes to children in more than 100 countries. For many children, access to these simple items is essential to an education. This was the case for Justin Thomas, a shoebox recipient in Southeast Asia whose parents could not afford the supplies needed for school. Thomas remembers the specific day he received a giftfilled shoebox from Operation Christmas Child and found it filled with toys and most exciting to him – school supplies. Growing up with handme- down clothes and used items, Thomas used to write with a pencil so short that he held it using a pen cap. Having an entire packet of new pencils and a pencil…