OPERATION Christmas Child is gearing up for this year’s shoebox appeal, in its 20th anniversary year, and people in Westbury are invited to start putting together shoeboxes to send to children in poverty.
Chantry TV will once again be operating as Westbury’s drop-off point and is ready to collect the shoeboxes.
Judith Whalley, a volunteer for Operation Christmas Child, lives in Westbury and co-ordinates the town’s efforts. She said, “Our drop off point this year is Chantry TV again and the other important thing is that leaflets about Operation Christmas Child will be in the library, and Chantry, and other shops in the town.
“We take in the boxes from the beginning of November, although Chantry will take the boxes as soon as anyone brings them!”
Operation Christmas Child aims to enrich the lives of millions of children around the world by delivering shoeboxes filled with gifts and goodies to some of the toughest parts of the world, to children who otherwise might not receive anything for Christmas. Boxes from the UK are usually sent to eastern European countries such as Romania and Ukraine.
Judith said that the Westbury effort has always been admirable. “Everyone’s always been fantastic,” she said. “We’ve got loads of ladies who love to knit, and parents like it because it’s good for their children to learn how to give. We probably did about 1,000 last year although it’s hard to count – people bring them into Chantry but there’s all the groups like the Brownies, the churches and the schools.”
Items that are suitable for the shoeboxes include toys, educational items such as pens and notepads, hygiene items such as toothbrushes and toothpaste, and other items such as sweets, gloves, scarfs, and necklaces and bangles.
Items that should NOT be included are food (with the exception of non-chocolate sweets), medicines, war or political related items, fragile items, liquids, dangerous items, novels or stuffed toys without a CE mark. More information about what to include and how the scheme works can be found at www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk or from the leaflets around the town.
Once the boxes leave Westbury, they are then taken to the depot in Bowerhill, Melksham, before being transported abroad. Last year 33,883 shoeboxes were sent out from Melksham and this year the team is keen to beat that figure.
“The big thing is that it’s our 20th anniversary this year,” Judith said. “Last year 1.2 million went from the UK which although it’s still not enough, it’s a lot of happy children!”
