News In The Hebden Bridge List

Add One Extra Child To Your Shopping List This Christmas

Christmas is fast approaching and many of you will have already started buying gifts for the children in your family and ticking them off the list, looking forward to seeing their faces light up with joy as they run downstairs to see Santa has visited.

But what about those children who won’t be receiving any presents this year? Children in orphanages, children in war-torn countries, children living in places so poor they will be lucky to have a meal in their belly on 25th December?

Operation Christmas Child is a campaign run by Samaritan’s Purse to ensure that some of these children have something to get excited about this Christmas.

All they are asking you do is take an empty shoebox and fill it with small, inexpensive gifts such as jelly sweets, dolls or toy cars, hygienic items such as a comb, toothpaste and a toothbrush, and take it to your nearest collection point where it will be shipped to over one million children in 13 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Africa.

How to get involved;

1. Step one: Find an empty medium-size shoe box, approximately 18 × 30 × 13cm (boxes which are too large may be split). Fill it with gifts (ideas below).
2. Decide whether your box is for a boy or girl, and what age range your box is most suitable for. The stickers can be downloaded from the samaritan’s purse website.
3. Gift-wrap your box, ensuring it can still be opened, and secure it with a rubber band. Do not seal the box or wrap any items individually.
4. Download a donation form and fill it in, enclosing £2.50 for costs of distribution, transport, processing and promotion of the charity. Place your donation envelope or online donation slip on top of the contents so that it will be clearly visible when the box is opened. You may also wish to include a photograph of yourself and your address, should the child wish to write a thank-you letter (seeing how much joy you have brought makes it all worthwhile!)
5. Take your box to the nearest drop-off point between 1st-18th November. In Calderdale, this is St Augustine’s Centre in Hanson Lane, Halifax, which is open for donations on the dates given (Monday-Friday 9am-4pm).

Gift ideas

Firstly, it is very important NOT to include the following:

• No food; the only exception is that non-chocolate sweets are allowed.
• No medicine or vitamins of any kind.
• No war related items: Toy guns, soldiers or knives of any kind.
• No clothing other than listed above.
• No fragile items: Glass containers, mirrors.
• No liquids: including blow bubbles, shampoo, bubble bath, toiletry sets or aerosols.
• No dangerous items: Any sharp objects, scissors or razors.
• Nothing of a political nature.
• No hand knitted stuffed toys without a CE mark.

Stuck for ideas? feel free to include:
Cars, trucks, small ball, teddy bears, finger puppets, jigsaw or yo-yo, balloons, a small musical instrument, pens and paper, puzzle books, stickers, hat, scarf and gloves, dolls, notepads, clip on earrings or bangles, hairbands and a comb, toothbrush and paste, bar of wrapped soap.

Samaritan’s Purse is always on the look-out for volunteers to help in its local warehouses. If you can spare some time this Christmas, please see the website for more details.

Visit The Operation Christmas Child Website