THOUSANDS of gift-filled shoeboxes have left Westbury bound for stricken communities across Europe and Africa thanks to many local volunteers.
A total of around 17,000 boxes have been loaded from the Operation Christmas Child depot in Westbury, on two lorries, destined for Zambia, via a container ship, and Albania. Volunteers from the local area have given their thanks to everybody who did their bit for the appeal this year.
It is expected that the final number of boxes that will be packed and sent will be much higher with another lorry set to leave the local area at some point, although a time and date is yet to be confirmed.
Collection points are still running across Westbury and neighbouring towns as huge numbers of people are once again supporting the effort in its first year as the centre of operations in Westbury.
The appeal asks people to donate a shoebox filled with toys, paper, toothbrushes, sweets, gloves and other items. There are huge numbers of volunteers at the warehouse on different days in the lead up to Christmas, to spend time putting the finishing touches to thousands of shoeboxes donated by people across Wiltshire and the surrounding area.
Hundreds more volunteers give up their time from the surrounding area to help spread Christmas joy to children who would not otherwise receive any gifts.
Regional coordinator Steve Lloyd said, “It is wonderful knowing that those children will receive a Christmas present this year because of the hard work of so many people in the local area.
“We just want to thank everyone who has been a part of the appeal this year. The support has been fantastic and it amazes me how many volunteers we have helping out and giving their time; it is an amazing scheme and great to see people coming together.
“There are so many people that make this all possible and we are grateful to them all.”
This year marked the beginning of a new era for Operation Christmas Child with a change of depot and leader, with Westbury taking over the help after the long-standing Hilary McFall stepped down.
