Mary Damron: The Shoebox Lady Who Changed the World

Mary Damron’s story begins in the rugged hills of Wyoming County, West Virginia—a coal miner’s wife in one of the poorest corners of Appalachia. Life was not easy. She and her husband faced layoffs, lean times, and the quiet battles that come with poverty. But Mary had something unshakable: faith.

One night in 1994, sitting in her living room, she saw Franklin Graham on TV talking about Operation Christmas Child—a mission to send shoeboxes full of gifts to children in war-torn Bosnia. That moment lit a fire in Mary’s heart. Though she had little to give, she rallied her community and collected over 1,200 shoeboxes in just weeks, personally delivering them to Samaritan’s Purse in North Carolina.

Her passion caught Franklin Graham’s attention, and soon Mary—known simply as The Shoebox Lady—was traveling the globe. From Bosnia to Honduras, she crisscrossed more than 40 countries, delivering hope and gifts to children who had lost nearly everything. Along the way, she earned another nickname—Mama Gump—because, like the character Forrest Gump, she had a way of showing up in history, from refugee camps to the Oval Office, where she prayed with President Bill Clinton and handed him an empty shoebox, asking him to fill it for a child in need.

Mary’s faith was unwavering, but she was also deeply human. She privately wrestled with moments of depression and doubt, yet she never stopped showing up for others. That’s what made her so powerful—she proved that you don’t have to be perfect to change the world.

Mary Damron passed away in December 2024, but her legacy lives on in millions of shoeboxes and countless lives touched. From a coal miner’s wife in Appalachia to a beacon of compassion across the world, Mary reminds us of one simple truth: God can do extraordinary things through ordinary people.