WE WISH SHOE A MERRY XMAS!
T OILETRIES and gifts are being collected throughout the Welsh capital to distribute to women living in refuges in the city this Christmas.
A Facebook group called Project Shoebox Cardiff 2016 aims to gain as many donations as possible.
The community project is run by women in the capital to help other women.
Their page states: “It’s an attempt to help women who arrive at women’s ref- uges this Christmas. Many will arrive bruised, battered and with nothing more than the clothes they are standing in.” Mali Taylor-Powell, 27, from Splott, came up with the initiative after her offer to help a similar group in London was turned down. “I asked if I could donate but when they said I had to be local I decided to set up my own in Cardiff,” she said.
This is the third year Mali has organised Project Shoebox. The number of boxes collected increased from 372 to more than 1,200 in the second year so she is now hoping to raise even more this Christmas.
“I have friends who have been victims of domestic violence,” she said. “It can happen to anyone.”
“There’s a big influx of women who go into shelters around Christmas.
“If those women don’t have anything for themselves I just have to do something.”
The aim is to fill shoeboxes with items suitable for women – including new or unused items.
As well as everyday necessities such as toothpaste, toothbrush, shower gel, sanitary products and deodorant, people are also encouraged to include one luxury item.
“People don’t have to put a luxury item in there but I think it would be nice to have one thing which makes the box more of a present,” Mali said. “It could be a pot of nail varnish or an item of make-up or something small.”
The charities which will receive the boxes are Women’s Aid and Bawso, which provide specialist services for victims of domestic abuse, and Llamau, a charity which helps improve the lives of socially excluded and homeless people.
People can also choose to donate items for a baby.
A donation station to drop off the boxes will be at Cardiff University Students’ Union on the second floor at Park Place from November 25 until December 3, open between 5pm and 7.30pm, Monday to Friday, and 10am until 4pm on Saturday and Sunday.
For more details visit Facebook page Project Shoebox Cardiff 2016