Support for Wirral charity leads to a
mountain of gift donations
A Wirral business stepped in to support a Christmas
charity project which received a record number of donations this year and needed
space to store and process them.
Operation Christmas Child, run by Samaritan's Purse, collects shoeboxes donated
by the general public which are filled with gifts, school supplies and toys and
are sent to children in underdeveloped countries for Christmas. The campaign,
which received more than 10,000 shoeboxes this year and last, had to seek space
to store and process all the gifts from generous members of the public from
across the Wirral.
Peel Land and Property helped support the charity this year by donating the use
of a warehouse in Birkenhead, with rent, rates and all running costs included in
the donation.
Patricia Hardman one of the volunteers from Samaritan's Purse commented:-
"We can never complain about receiving too many donations. In November when we
collected the boxes, we were in desperate need of enough space to ensure we
could efficiently process and distribute them to those in need at this festive
time of year. Without the help and support of Peel Land and Property, the
management of all the kind donations from the public would have been
impossible."
Robyn Walters, Property Manager, from Peel Land and Property said:- "We're
delighted to support Samaritan's Purse with their shoebox appeal this year and
are glad that the use of our warehouse allowed them to continue their amazing
work. We're sure the shoeboxes will bring joy to many children this Christmas."
Shoeboxes are delivered wrapped in festive paper and carry an exciting
assortment of items for boys and girls aged between 2 and 14. Over 120
volunteers worked hard in the run up to Christmas to ensure that all boxes were
full, safe and packed up ready in time to be transported.
Samaritan's Purse are extremely grateful to all the members of the public who
donated items, wrapped shoeboxes and sent money to cover the transportation
costs, as well as the many volunteers that made it possible to bring a little
bit of joy to underprivileged people at this time of year.
The lorry destined to carry all the shoeboxes, this year to Latvia, arrived on 1
December 2016, at the Birkenhead Warehouse and was so full that over 400 boxes
had to be sent to the Liverpool warehouse to be included in one of their
shipments. The lorry and its 9,862 shoeboxes will arrive in Latvia and be
distributed in time for Christmas.
