Club boxed clever to help children

Every Christmas there are a number of Shoebox schemes in Peterborough, but one that has become a growing annual collection has been the one organised by Peterborough Rotary Club.

Locally, a campaign was mounted in late November and early December asking local schools, churches and individuals to fill a box with different items; clothes, toys, stationery, toiletries and household goods.

The pandemic encouraged many people to contribute, the club stretching out its arms to contact as many as possible.

Laura and her team from Longthorpe School were able to collect an amazing total of 81 boxes. Others came from St Botolph’s Church.

The staggering amount of 1,088 boxes provided exceeded the 357 from the previous

Some of the shoeboxes gathered for delivery (left) and gratefully received (above right)

year, and meant they all had to be stored at Westwood Farm.

In mid-January they were all transferred on to pallets to be sent to a national centre.

Where do they go? In this instance they were delivered to Eastern Europe, particularly

Moldova and Romania.

All boxes are labelled with their contents, sorted for different age groups: under five, under-10, teenagers, adults and for families.

For small children they mainly contained toys. Photographs

sent back make it clear that recipients were delighted.

Rotary clubs provide aid to a wide variety of causes, some annually, others one-off in response to disasters and emergencies.

In Peterborough, there is a large prison where both men and women are serving sentences.

A small number of women are pregnant and there is a special mother and baby unit. Some women have little support.

Christmas is a time for giving, and a time for thinking of those less fortunate than ourselves. For several years the Peterborough club has provided gifts at Christmas to the children in the mother and baby unit at the prison.

This year, Rotary Club president Barry Pennill presented the gifts to Emma Baker, the lead nursery nurse, for the four children in the unit, aged between one month and eight months, each receiving two sets of baby clothes and a toy.

Last week, I featured ShelterBox in my article. From watching the news, we are all made aware of the increasing need for international aid following devastation caused by Super Typhoon Rai.

When the Tonga disaster added to the crisis, members of the Peterborough club decided to act swiftly and fund a ShelterBox.

A weekly round-up of news and views from Rotary clubs in the Peterborough area: www.rotary1070.org