Dorset’s shoebox generosity

Thanks to the kindness of people throughout Dorset, Operation Christmas Child sent over 23,800 shoeboxes full of presents to children facing difficult lives in several countries.

The shoeboxes full of presents were donated by members of the public, schools, companies, churches and organisations from communities across the county, including Blandford Forum, Bournemouth, Bridport, Broadstone, Christchurch, Dorchester, Ferndown, Lyme Regis, Poole, Portland, Sherborne, Swanage, Wareham, Weymouth and Wimborne. The shoeboxes were checked in the Operation Christmas Child processing centre at Christchurch and sent to children in Belarus, Bosnia and Liberia.

“On behalf of Operation Christmas Child and all our volunteers, I just want to send a huge ‘thank you’ to every single person who donated a shoebox this year,” says Peter & Eileen Ivermee. “This has been a hard year for many people in Dorset, and we are just knocked out by the fact so many of them have put together a shoebox. It has such a positive effect on the child that receives it and we want everyone here to know that their gifts make a real difference.”

The number of Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes that left the UK totalled over 1.1 million.