Laois people send almost 4,000 shoeboxes filled with Christmas joy to Romanian children
Some of the Team Hope volunteers busy filling shoeboxes with presents for children in Romania
WITH thanks to the kind people of Laois and Team Hope Laois volunteers, over 3,750 shoeboxes filled with Christmas gifts were sent to the commune of Sag in Romania to help bring smiles to the faces of thousands of boys and girls of all ages this festive season.
Team Hope is an Irish Christian international development charity which was founded in 2010. The charity helps children affected by poverty or marginalisation in Eastern Europe and Africa and each year with the help of many generous people the Laois branch of the Team Hope Christmas Shoebox Appeal sends thousands of boxes to children in poorer countries.
The annual appeal is regularly supported by families, local schools, and several organisations and businesses from around the county.
The local team makes a huge difference to children every year by making sure that they are not forgotten at Christmas and that they too receive a lovely selection of gifts which are made to be suitable for their various ages.
Every shoebox contains what Team Hope refers to as “the four Ws”. These are something to wash with like toothbrushes, facecloths, hair brushes and soap bars - something to wear like hats, scarves, gloves, socks, and underwear - things to write with like crayons, pens, pencils, markers, writing pads and notebooks - and a Wow! present like cuddly toys, skipping ropes, yoyos, dolls, small musical instruments, toy cars and trucks.
Also included in the shoeboxes is a €5 note which is a donation that goes towards transportation and distribution costs to get the shoeboxes to their destination.
Between Team Hope volunteers and several members of the Mountrath Women’s Shed the team went through each donated shoebox to make sure that they all contained the four Ws and they added other items where appropriate to make sure that each box was full.
In total this year the people of Laois have sent 3,758 shoeboxes filled with Christmas joy to boys and girls of all ages in the Romanian commune of Sag.
On Saturday 29 December an articulated truck arrived bright and early at a spacious premises in Mountrath owned by Damien Campion Electrical Limited (DCel) which was provided to Laois Team Hope by owner Damien Campion to use for several weeks to go through and pack the shoeboxes.
The 3,758 shoeboxes had been sealed into 468 big cartons and a strong group of volunteers got to work and loaded them into the 40-foot trailer.
On behalf of Laois Team Hope, coordinator Dorothy McDowell wishes to thank everyone who donated shoeboxes from all around the county, all of the schools that were involved in gathering boxes and fillers for the appeal, everyone who provided drop-off points for shoeboxes, Damien Campion for the use of the “fabulous” building, Ger Mulhall for providing trolleys, Ger and June Whelan of the Deadman’s Inn for hosting the table quiz, the Team Hope volunteers, Mountrath Women’s Shed and everyone who helped in any way.
More information is available on www.teamhope.ie.
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