Operation Christmas Child launched by Hampshire volunteers

Teams of Hampshire volunteers have been collecting and preparing thousands of donated shoeboxes full of presents for poor children in the charity appeal Operation Christmas Child.

Hundreds of volunteers have turned a warehouse in Chandler’s Ford into a fast production line of checking, filling and wrapping boxes full of toys, clothes, sweets, toothbrushes and other hygiene items for desperate children.

So far more than 40,000 boxes collected from schools, churches, businesses and social groups are on their way to help youngsters fighting for survival on the streets or struggling in overrun orphanages.

Margaret Griffin, from Christian charity Samaritan’s Purse, said that the operation was a popular way of helping needy children overseas.

She said: “We have people here who volunteer their time because they know it is going to a good cause that they know will make a real difference in children’s lives.

“Their reaction to receiving their wrapped present is very moving. It is remarkable how a small thing like a toothbrush can be such an exciting present for them.”

Schoolchildren from across the county have been collecting donated goods and providing thousands of filled shoeboxes for the appeal.

Pupils at Mountbatten School in Romsey took up the challenge and have integrated the collection into some of their lessons.

Year 10 pupil Harry Chaudry, 14, said that he and his classmates had used the appeal in their maths lessons, by calculating the various costs of sending numerous completed shoeboxes across the world.

He said: “It helps our understanding of applied maths, and is a chance to help children who are not as lucky as we are by giving them some basic items and toys.

“It has been really rewarding.”

Youngsters at Newlands Primary School in Shirley, Southampton, have also been taking up the shoebox challenge, with pupils filling 35 boxes with gifts.

Pastoral care worker Nick Scott said that the appeal was popular with the young pupils.

He said: “It is a great way to see how other people in the world live and they are really keen on helping other children who don’t have what they have at Christmas.”

Last year’s total of 29,000 shoeboxes from the Chandler’s Ford warehouse and a centre in Sarisbury Green has already been beaten, with hundreds more coming in to the warehouse every day.

Roger Fenton, Hampshire regional manager for the appeal, said: “Operation Christmas Child is a win-win, both for those involved here and the children in the distribution areas.

“Here it involves so many people in what is a really uplifting experience, choosing simple gifts or making items like knitted hats or gloves to put in a shoebox.

“Others get a real buzz from helping us collect the shoeboxes, checking them in our local warehouses and loading the lorries.

“It is very much a team approach and involves all ages.

And at the distribution end, the sparkle in the children’s eyes tells us the effort and kindness of everyone is certainly appreciated.

“In eastern Europe we take shoeboxes to children who are living in orphanages, street shelters, rehabilitation centres and in hospitals, as well as wider communities faced by hardship, such as those still living daily with the repercussions of the Chernobyl disaster, over 20 years later.

“In Africa we meet children living in real poverty, sometimes the refugees of war, often struggling to get basic needs such as drinkable water.

“We understand that people here are facing a tightening economy, but we can reassure those wondering about donating a shoebox that simple gifts go down a storm with the children – pencils, a ruler, a sharpener, a rubber, a small ball, knitted hat, toy car, hair clips, a toothbrush, football cards, a colouring book or a hairbrush.

Inexpensive gifts that bring much pleasure and that can transform a withdrawn child into one joining in happily with others in sharing the gifts and laughter.”