This year again, as a Church and as a community, we are looking forward to taking part in the Shoebox Appeal. This is an annual appeal organized by the charity, Samaritan’s Purse, which, through the Christmas appeal known as Operation Christmas Child, distributes donations of gift-filled shoeboxes around the world to needy children who otherwise would receive no gift at all at Christmas. Last year the 328 shoeboxes collected at Palmerston Place Church were sent to Belarus and this story gives some idea of the impact they made.

“Five…four…three…two… one… OPEN!”

Cries of excitement fill the room at the children’s shelter in Mogilov, Belarus, as lids are torn off shoeboxes and little faces catch the first sight of their gifts. Hats and scarves are pulled on and big smiles fill faces as each new gift is shown off. One little boy, Dima, pulls out a knitted hand puppet and shrieks “Look at this, look at this! Thank you, thank you!”

Suddenly, Anton, another little boy, finds one in his shoebox too and running over to Dima they begin to giggle with glee. The infectious giggle spread and soon the little boys are dancing around, waving their hand puppets and shouting in delight.

Watching from the side of the room, tears fill the eyes of the children’s shelter Director, Tanya. “We have so many beautiful, abandoned children here. Many are just not wanted by their parents and yet, look at them, they’re wonderful! Both boys are here because their parents are alcoholics and cannot afford to look after them,” she explains. “This shelter is only a temporary place and it’s a very difficult time for the children.”

For now, all worries and concerns have vanished, replaced by shoeboxes bursting with gifts, bringing colour and laughter into the lives of these little children.

Stories like this make taking part in Operation Christmas Child so rewarding and, to ensure that we are able to help even more children like Dima and Anton this year, we need to begin the preparations now. It would be marvelous if we could count on your support to help with this.

To begin:

You need to have a shoebox. Did you remember to keep the shoebox from your new
shoes this summer? It needs to be a medium-sized shoe box, approximately 18 x 30 x 13 cm.

Step 1: Wrap the lid and box separately in pretty wrapping paper
Step 2: Decide if your gift is for a boy or a girl.
Step 3: Fill the shoebox with gifts. Every shoebox should include a soft toy to love and some basic hygiene items—a bar of wrapped soap, a face flannel, a toothbrush and toothpaste. The special leaflets you need, giving more information about which gifts to include—and, as importantly, what not to include—will be available in church from the beginning of September. Also there will be more details about this in next month’s magazine.

We look forward to receiving complete shoeboxes in Church from the beginning of November and will give thanks for the completion of our part in the project with a special Shoebox Sunday Celebration service.