The Shoe Box appeal runs throughout the year but really gets going in September. We work in partnership with Blythswood Care.
In 2022 we managed as a congregation and the help of the community, to fill 620 shoe boxes!! These were sent to deserving children and adults in Albania. No-one could have anticipated achieving that amount in times when people are struggling with the current cost of living.
The team are immensely grateful for the support we receive. We really couldn’t do what we do without it.
We collect anything from small donations of soap to larger ones of a full shoe box or 300 facecloths.
People hand in filled shoe boxes, toiletries, toys, tennis balls, stationery and we have an army of knitters who supply us with a vast array of hand knitted goods such as hat, gloves, scarves, baby clothes, puppets, bags, purses and pencil cases. It is amazing the effort a lot of people make.
We also greatly appreciate donations towards the postage of £3.00 per box for transportation and we hold two coffee mornings and quizzes throughout the year to help with this cost. This year they are Saturday 22 April and Saturday 2 September.
A fantastic team organise shoe box wrapping evenings in the Summer months in the activities hall in church. The dates this year are Thursdays 20 April, 18 May and 15 June. And meet on Thursday evenings in the Autumn to fill the boxes.
We are also a drop-off station; people from other churches and organisations or just people doing it on their own are able to deliver shoe boxes to us. This happens on Saturdays 28 October and 4 November from 10am until 1pm and we spend the rest of the afternoon and evening checking through each box adding items and literature then taping them ready for collection by Blythswood.
September, October and November are really busy months for the team but very worthwhile and we are all willing to keep doing it each year. With help from volunteers in our own congregation and friends, family and neighbours of the congregation helping out, even for an hour makes a big difference. It is a great venture to be part of.
If you would like to donate, help out in any way or find out more about us you can email lin.baillie@live.co.uk. (Click here to see what items we require.)
Thank you so much to every single person that makes this possible
Lin Baillie and the team