Abbotts Ann Primary School are once again supporting Andover Rotary Club with Rotary Wessex’s Christmas Shoe Box Appeal.
The Shoe Boxes this year will be for disadvantaged and displaced children in Moldova, Montenegro, Romania and Ukraine via Poland. All these countries in Eastern Europe are supporting a large number of Ukrainian refugee children who have lost their homes and all of their belongings. The war in Ukraine has caused many women and children to leave their homes and we have all seen, on the TV, the faces of bewildered children who have been displaced into other neighbouring countries. Rotary are also looking into options to send some boxes to Ukraine itself.
This year a standard size box is being provided, in order to be able to fit more boxes into the removals cartons sent to the receiving countries. The new boxes are big enough to take rolls of paper, pens and pencils and small games, but not so large that donors have to spend a large amount of money in order to fill them. Boxes have been designed to a shape that will allow 16 boxes to fit into the standard outer cartons used for shipping, which will save Rotary some of the transport costs.
Prospective donors will be given their box(es), each with a leaflet stating what can or cannot be put in the box. Boxes will be white double wall card, reasonably robust and can be assembled by simply folding and clicking them into shape. Each box will have a label printed on it which states whether the content is suited to a boy or girl and their age. Some donors prefer to wrap the boxes in Christmas paper or cover them with sticky Christmas theme labels to make them look attractive.
A video showing how to make a box and what to put in it can be found at – https://wessexrotaryshoebox.org.uk/
This year donors are being asked for a £2 donation to cover the cost of the transportation. It is appreciated things may be difficult in home in our area, but if you think of the children in Eastern Europe who have lost everything Rotary are asking for a donation per box of less than the price of a cup of coffee.
Would it not be wonderful to bring a bit of happiness to these children when they receive your Shoebox?
The School will be handing out boxes for filling in October and collecting completed ones. By Monday 2nd of November please. Rotary will collect and check boxes and deliver them to our District depot on the 7th of November; in order that they will get to the Local Rotary clubs in the receiving countries for distribution to the children before Christmas.
If on reading this piece you would like to join this very worthwhile scheme then please contact the School (710244) or myself.
Thanking you all in advance.
Gordon Howard
Andover Rotary Club
(01264 710830)