Get a charity head start on Christmas for shoe box appeal
IT’S hard to turn your attention to Christmas when the summer has just left but an annual Christmas appeal with a difference is asking folk to get their shoeboxes ready for delivery. The Team Hope Christmas Shoebox Appeal has been launched by Olympian Elena Tice in an effort to get people to make up their boxes in plenty of time for delivery.
The idea is to get an old shoebox, wrap it in Christmas paper, fill it with presents and donate €4 so it can be delivered to a child in need.
And for Elena, the appeal has been something she has been involved in since she was a young child herself.
‘The shoebox appeal was the first thing I experienced when I was growing up where I as a child could help another child in need,’ she says. ‘It was a really big thing for us and I think Christmas is such a special time in Ireland as a nation we love Christmas. There is such an opportunity to put a smile on a child’s face who might not experience the joy we experience at Christmas and that’s why I got involved.’
Thousands of boxes are distributed annually to places in Africa and Eastern Europe and this year ambassador Elena is hoping to hand deliver some of the boxes herself.
‘The volunteers from Team Hope spend a lot of time delivering boxes by hand and there is video footage of some of the children receiving their gifts which is incredibly moving,’ says Elena. ‘I am hoping to travel with them in December and see for myself.’
Team Hope is calling on parents, children, teachers, families and communities to build-a-box at home or online to help them reach their goal of 200,000 shoeboxes this year. It has never been easier to build a shoebox.
All you have to do is find an empty shoebox, wrap it in Christmas paper and fill it with gifts for a boy or girl aged between two years and 14 years, give online or attach a €4 donation and bring it to a local drop off point before the deadline of Tuesday November 8th – or you can build-a-box online by donating at www.teamhope.ie. One of Team Hope’s local partners will build a box on your behalf on-the-ground and make sure it goes where it’s needed most. When considering the best items to gift, Elena advises you to think of the 4W’s:
Wear – Gloves, Hat, Scarf, Socks, Top, Underwear
Wash – Comb, Soap, Sponge, Toothbrush & Toothpaste, Washcloth
Write – Colouring Pencils, Notepad, Writing accessories
Wow – Think of items like musical instruments, puzzles, a ball, a skipping rope, a soft toy or a toy car .There are so many benefits to the Team Hope Christmas Shoebox Appeal. It is so important for the child who receives it, both for the joy the physical gifts bring and for them to know that people are thinking about them. There are also benefits for the child that donates.
Dr. Malie Coyne, a clinical psychologist who specialises in working with children and families says being kind and showing altruism for others boosts the giver’s serotonin which increases happiness.
‘In a world which can often feel topsy-turvy for children, involving your child in creating a shoebox empowers them to make a real and tangible difference in another child’s life,’ she says.
For Elena, being involved with the campaign from a young age helped her understand how to take care of others.
‘It;s a very easy process to create the shoebox and doing it yourself is really special especially for young people as it helps then understand about giving to other people,’ she says. ‘It is a great act of love. In a country where a lot of us have stability, I think it is important to understand that not all children are as fortunate.If you understand that from a young age, you grow in your level of compassion and love for others.
Team Hope Shoebox Week runs this year from October 31 to November 6 and to get involved you’ll find plenty of inspiration on gifts to include, or not, in your shoebox, how to donate and where to drop off your shoebox at www.teamhope.ie.
For teachers, there are lots of class lessons and teaching resources available online. If finding an empty shoebox is proving tricky, Team Hope partner and drop off point Dealz will be selling flatpack shoeboxes in packs of three in their stores nationwide.