This article is from page 29 of the 2009-11-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 29 JPG
EAST Clare has never been behind when it comes to being generous in a good cause and with Christmas loom- ing large, organisers of the Shoebox Appeal are hoping that people local- ly will come up trumps again.
Every year, thousand of shoeboxes, filled with toys, warm clothes, toilet- ries and sweets, are shipped to chil- dren around the world.
The gaily wrapped boxes are the only Christmas presents these chil- dren see, living as they do in war- torn countries or in third-world areas devastated by famine and disease.
Under the auspices of the Samari- tan’s Purse organisation, Operation Christmas Child – also know as the Shoebox Appeal – brings a bit of cheer into the lives of the children involved.
In east Clare, Joanne Allen is gear- ing up to collect boxes from the gen- erous people in Scariff while a sepa- rate shoebox appeal is under way in Tulla.
Joanne got involved with the appeal after her daughter Rachel started do-
ing it in school.
‘People are very generous when it comes to making up boxes. We have one collection at the school and we are also asking anyone who wants to fill a box to drop it into Bane’s Gift Shop,” said Joanne.
The numbers taking part in the ap- peal has been rising steadily, despite the recession. “We got 150 boxes from the school alone last year which was fantastic,’ she Joanne.
As well as co-ordinating the col- lection of boxes in the Scariff area, Joanne works in the warehouse in Ennis, checking the boxes and pre- paring them for the onward journey.
Asked about criticism which claims that project organisers are plac- ing religious literature in the boxes, Joanne says that this is not the case. “The boxes have to be checked to be sure that the contents are suit- able for the age group and within the guidelines but once that is done, they are sealed and sent off. There is no literature put in them and they are given to children of every religious background. What does happen is that nuns and priests who travel to
where the children are to give them their gifts also give them a leaflet on the story of the first Christmas or some other religious story if it’s ap- propriate. The Samaritan’s Purse is a religious organisation – they make no secret of that. And if I was a child be- ing handed a lovely box all wrapped up, and a sheet of paper at the same time, I know which one Id be inter- ested in.”
Anyone in the Scariff area who would like to make up a box is asked to drop it into Bane’s Gift Shop be- fore Saturday, November 7.
Ennis co-ordinator of the appeal and east Clare man, Louis Duffy, told