Winchester Rotary has contributed 638 Christmas shoeboxes and more than 200 woollen items to this year’s Wessex Rotary Christmas Shoebox Scheme.
Each year, members of some 50 rotary clubs in the Wessex district organise the collection, checking, categorisation, packing and despatch of 18,000 shoeboxes filled with gifts for disadvantaged children in Moldova, Montenegro, Romania and Ukraine.
This year Winchester Rotary has donated 638 filled shoeboxes to contribute to the 18,669 boxes collected this year.
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In addition, they have been given more than 200 woollen items – jumpers, scarves, hats and gloves- as well as blankets, knitted by a number of local craft groups including Winchester Inner Wheel.
Winchester rotarian Colin Cook, who coordinates the shoebox collection in Winchester, said: “Our thanks from Winchester Rotary go to the seven local primary schools, four nursery and church groups, and the many individual donors who have helped us bring joy to so many children this Christmas. We are also grateful to Chesil Theatre for helping us with the creation of a video explaining the scheme – it has proved very successful and remains on our website.”
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