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The 2005 appeal
Throughout the Michaelmas term, each of the fourth year classes has worked on a project as part of their 'Life Skills' work. With each project designed to help out in some way the school, local or global community, 4AH was designated the task of running the Operation Christmas Child scheme, part of the worldwide Samaritan's Purse charity. The task involved planning assemblies, designing posters, manning the stand at the back of the hall, and collecting in the vast number of shoeboxes which pupils and members of staff had put together, packed with sweets, toys, and others gifts for underprivileged children across the globe. Many of the recipients will have been exposed to the horrors of war, many are homeless or orphaned; all are in need of a glint of hope in their lives, provided by the shoeboxes.

On 1st December 2005, the 21 members of 4AH, accompanied by form tutor Mrs Hollingworth and the Head of the Middle School Mr Harle, set off to the Operation Christmas Child depot in Wrexham. With them were 375 shoeboxes, a huge increase on last year's record. After a brief journey, enlightened by Mrs Hollingworth's chocolates, which disappeared rather more quickly than anticipated (Bruce Fanshawe: chocolate monster), we began to unload the shoeboxes into the warehouse.

The warehouse itself was piled high with huge pallets topped with cardboard box upon box of shoeboxes, organised with military precision into specified gender and age group. This year it aims to handle 100,000 shoeboxes. Amongst the towers of boxes, many volunteers searched the boxes and removed items deemed unsuitable: the boxes we had filled would be transported to India , so hats and gloves were transferred to boxes going to Romania the following day, where the weather is much colder. In all 7.8 million shoeboxes, of which 1.1 million will be from the UK, will be sent to countries across three continents, including Belarus, Bosnia, Croatia, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine in Europe; Armenia, Azerbaijan, India and Kyrgyzstan in Asia; and The Gambia, Mozambique and Swaziland in Africa. The charity was founded when Dave Cooke was so struck by images of Romanian orphans in 1990 that he raised £60,000 and sent 6 truckloads of aid to Eastern Europe . A year later, his wife gave him the idea of a more personal 'Love in a Box', and Operation Christmas Child was born.

After a short presentation showed images of children receiving boxes last Christmas, we had the chance of a question and answer session with one of the volunteers. Interesting and thought-provoking questions were raised by many pupils, and the answers gave us some insight into different elements of the huge operation, though I am still not convinced by the necessity of sharing religious ideas with the recipients of the boxes.

Following our brief discussion, we moved back to the warehouse floor where we chatted to the army of volunteers, many of whom are retired, who work tirelessly and often for shifts longer than most workers' shifts. After giving our final thanks to Ruth Jones, we embarked our coach and headed back to school.

4AH would like to thank all who contributed towards the charity by filling, wrapping and donating the shoeboxes. A special thank-you also goes to Mrs Hollingworth, who supported us throughout the task and to Mr Harle, who also accompanied us on the day. We hope that if a fourth year class is given the same task next year that they will continue the good work and strive to break the record number of shoeboxes raised this Christmas.

George Roberts 4AH

The 2004 appeal
The King’s School has been collecting shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samaritan’s Purse International. Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organisation providing spiritual and physical aid to people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease or famine throughout the world. On their website (which you can visit using the link towards the top of the page) you will find a wealth of information about what happens to the boxes.

Altogether the King’s School managed to gather an outstanding 211 boxes - even better than last year's 197. Some of the boxes are shown in the photos with the willing volunteers preparing the boxes for delivery to the OCC warehouse in Wrexham. This goes towards the massive total of more than a million boxes a year from the UK and Ireland.

Working as an OCC volunteer
2000 years ago the first Christmas presents were given to Jesus, the young son of a poor carpenter and his wife. The gifts came from people the family had never met before, people who had travelled hundreds of miles to bring three gifts that meant so much. Can you imagine how Mary and Joseph would have felt when the wise men arrived with their presents? Can you imagine how the children in Eastern Europe felt when they received your shoeboxes?

By the time this article is printed, Christmas will be over, the decorations put away for another year and the presents, whether appreciated or not, opened and probably put on one side.

During December, I spent one afternoon and two evenings a week in Wrexham helping to sort the shoeboxes which had been collected for Operation Christmas Child. It is a very humbling experience to open one of these boxes and to realise that the contents are all that most of the children will receive. Can you imagine on Christmas morning opening a small box containing a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, face-cloth, scarf, hat and gloves and a few other small gifts? You would probably be horrified and yet the children who receive these boxes are grateful because they have so little.

On one of my visits to Wrexham, I was told of two children who each received a shoebox - one rather larger than the other. The child who had the small box protested over its size, so the child with the larger box offered to change. When the boxes were opened the small box contained more than the large box and so the child who had given away the large box offered to share the contents he had received in the small box with the other child. Can you imagine doing the same?

When I left Wrexham before Christmas, 135 lorries were on their way to Eastern Europe and other places carrying millions of shoeboxes to needy children.

During the coming year, let us, who are so privileged, spare a thought for the vast majority of children far less fortunate than ourselves.

Jonathan Roberts

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