A desire to help children in countries less fortunate has prompted the team at Goodstart Early Learning Calamvale to send 50 shoeboxes filled with gifts overseas.
Part of Operation Christmas Child, and developed by charity the Samaritan’s Purse, the present collection involves filling shoeboxes with gifts and paying $9 for delivery to developing countries including Samoa, Cambodia and Thailand.
The boxes are then dropped off at a collection point and sent overseas. Volunteers collect the shoeboxes in the receiving countries and are then hand-delivered to villages and towns.
“We managed to fill 50 shoeboxes this year with the help of our parents, employees and children at the centre,” Calamvale centre director Janice Davison said.
“We did it last year as well and managed to fill 12 so we’ve outdone ourselves.”
Ms Davison said the children enjoyed putting together the gifts, knowing they were helping others in different countries.
Participants are asked to fill their boxes with something to play with, to wear, for personal hygiene, for school, for love and something special. Gifts for girls and boys included hair ties, brushes, toys and clothes.
Ms Davison said in some cases, the shoeboxes were the first gifts the child had ever received and credited her educational leader Olivia Schtork with coming up the idea.
“We all really enjoyed taking part in this and look forward to doing it again next year,” Ms Davison said.
The Samaritan’s Purse is planning to deliver 370,000 gift filled shoeboxes to children in seven nations this year.
Part of Operation Christmas Child, and developed by charity the Samaritan’s Purse, the present collection involves filling shoeboxes with gifts and paying $9 for delivery to developing countries including Samoa, Cambodia and Thailand.
The boxes are then dropped off at a collection point and sent overseas. Volunteers collect the shoeboxes in the receiving countries and are then hand-delivered to villages and towns.
“We managed to fill 50 shoeboxes this year with the help of our parents, employees and children at the centre,” Calamvale centre director Janice Davison said.
“We did it last year as well and managed to fill 12 so we’ve outdone ourselves.”
Ms Davison said the children enjoyed putting together the gifts, knowing they were helping others in different countries.
Participants are asked to fill their boxes with something to play with, to wear, for personal hygiene, for school, for love and something special. Gifts for girls and boys included hair ties, brushes, toys and clothes.
Ms Davison said in some cases, the shoeboxes were the first gifts the child had ever received and credited her educational leader Olivia Schtork with coming up the idea.
“We all really enjoyed taking part in this and look forward to doing it again next year,” Ms Davison said.
The Samaritan’s Purse is planning to deliver 370,000 gift filled shoeboxes to children in seven nations this year.