2009 Christmas Shoebox charities

Ianna

Good kids freebie here just email your name and address to [EMAIL="abc@izziwotnot.com"]abc@izziwotnot.com[/EMAIL] and that you saw the offer in I'm Pregnant! magazine.

Apparently takes a week. Lovely shoebox filler!

GrumpyButGorgeous

For UK kids, check out your local charities, we have a couple of local ones that do a giving tree for children and one for the homeless too

mandragora_2

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2002/dec/18/guardiansocietysupplement7

Anyone thinking of giving to Operation Christmas Child ought to read this article first. I love the idea of giving - I don't like evangelical Americans proselytising off the back of it, though, and saying the child needs to go to church classes to receive it. I won't give to this charity any more.

dallam20

Don't believe everything you read in the paper, that's a very old article. Operation Christmas Child helps millions of children each year plus provides water filters and other help to disadvantaged children around the world. They arrive in big lorries and distribute the boxes to villagers etc no child is left out. They include christian based leaflets in the boxes - when appropraite (I have witnessed the boxes being checked and sealed) but will not if it is for example a muslim country. Each to their own and if you feel strongly about it then fair enough you don't have to get involved and there are other schemes you may feel more comfortable doing but in my opinion it's a fantastic scheme and makes me cry every year when I see the DVD's - my own children are so lucky. Dawn

snowmaid

Our Church does shoe boxes at various times for various groups, be it soldiers, children etc. Each person fills their own box and then these are handed on to an organisation who distributes them.

I don't mind who is handing out the boxes, so long as it gets to the people who need them. I am certainly not going to sit there on my throne and decide who is worthy of my gift.

moneysavingmumofone

vikki_louise wrote: »

www.postpals.co.uk does an elf scheme (like the shoe boxes) for seriously ill children and their siblings. The info will be up on the site in the next week or two

Thanks for pointing this out, i'll be doing this this year.

Rummer wrote: »

I have started buying bits and pieces for my operation xmas child box and told my daughter all about it. I was wondering if there were any charities to provide christmas gifts to children in the UK that would otherwise do without?

Last year I gave loads of stuff to a local womens refuge. I actually found them through freecycle as I specified I wanted my things to go to a womens refuge. Might be worth trying that?

snowmaid wrote: »

Our Church does shoe boxes at various times for various groups, be it soldiers, children etc. Each person fills their own box and then these are handed on to an organisation who distributes them.

I don't mind who is handing out the boxes, so long as it gets to the people who need them. I am certainly not going to sit there on my throne and decide who is worthy of my gift.

Agree.

I'll definitely be doing shoeboxes this year. 2 years ago I couldn't get to the drop off point before the deadline. i was gutted, I'd made 6 shoeboxes for various ages. All the things didn't got to waste though as I gave it all to a womens refuge. Then last year I completely forgot how early the deadline was. I've bought some bits already, mainly the toys and stationery. Staples has loads of stationery for 15p and 3 for 2.
I'm also going to donate soemthing to the womens refuge, i thought about a few presents but I was worried about people being left out if there's not enough presents for everyone? So I'm going to donate a few bits like a board game and dvd that everyone can enjoy.

Glpark01

postpals are doing the elf scheme again this year if anyones interested x x

http://www.postpals.co.uk/news.php

Ianna

dallam20 wrote: »

Don't believe everything you read in the paper, that's a very old article. Operation Christmas Child helps millions of children each year plus provides water filters and other help to disadvantaged children around the world. They arrive in big lorries and distribute the boxes to villagers etc no child is left out. They include christian based leaflets in the boxes - when appropraite (I have witnessed the boxes being checked and sealed) but will not if it is for example a muslim country. Each to their own and if you feel strongly about it then fair enough you don't have to get involved and there are other schemes you may feel more comfortable doing but in my opinion it's a fantastic scheme and makes me cry every year when I see the DVD's - my own children are so lucky. Dawn

The co-op stopped collecting for OCC when a leader called Islam an "evil religion". I don't like that the CEO collects massive salaries but the racism really irks me. I'm sure that the shoeboxes do good but I just can't support an organisation with that sort of figurehead.

gemmacarolyn

I send my shoeboxes to Smile International. They have a very good webpage about what to and what not to put in shoeboxes:

http://www.smileinternational.org/christmas-shoeboxes.htm

This may help you, even if you're sending them with another company

loulou123

As far as parcels for elderly people, id suggest that if this interets you, you contact some of your local care homes directly, or maybe Help the Aged.

I work in a care home and sadly some of the residents do get left out, as they have no relatives to come and see them and bring them gifts. (the staff do make sure that everyone has at least a present, but obviously those from large familys will get more.)

Im sure most if not all care homes, would be very grateful and if you picked one near you, you could be present to see them receiving their gift.