...and so the fun begins! It's Santa Shoebox time!

It's time to pledge your boxes for the Santa Shoebox Project. As I have already written about this project, I'm not going to go into what it's all about, but if you don't already know, click here, and go to the website here - go to the beneficiary page, and pledge your boxes. From what I've seen, it seems that the younger kids get chosen first while the teenagers are often left until last - just because they're older, doesn't mean the gift won't be as meaningful, or as precious.

If you're going to pledge boxes, I have a couple of favours to ask of you;
1) Get your kids involved - it's a big life lesson for them, no matter how old they are;
2) Pack the boxes properly! The organisers of the initiative will NOT let an incomplete box go out. If you're going to do this, don't do a half-assed job! Last year I spent hours completing boxes that were incomplete. Someone had packed a bunch of boxes for a group of teenage girls, and out of the 8 simple items that were meant to be in each box, had only managed to pack 3 or 4 of those items! Luckily the project does have many supporters, and there are tables of items that have been donated that one can go through in order to finish an incomplete box - but seriously, how hard can it be to pack a box so that it contains all of the items it should;
3) There are rules as to what can and cannot go into the boxes - pay attention to them, they're there for a reason! The boxes are donated way in advance so a slab of chocolate is going to melt in the middle of November! Some of these kids come from rough backgrounds - giving them a toy gun isn't what they need! Each and every box is checked against the list of items provided;
4) Don't promise a box and then not drop it off - rather let the organisers know if you're in a pickle, or donate the money you would have spent on the goodies instead - see the website for banking details;
4) Spread the word; and
5) Have fun :-)

Pledging of the boxes opened on 1 September - to date 26 685 boxes have already been secured! That's incredible! They have 95 319 children to give boxes to...so let's start packing! Drop off is at the end of October, so there is time but not a lot!

I absolutely love this project, and am so proud to be a part of it each year. My girls and I have chosen our children - a girl of 3 for Jemma to pack a box for, a girl of 6 for Ella to pack a box for, and a girl of 15 for me to pack a box for. Last year, Ellie and Jem came with me to the planning meeting for volunteers, they also chose the goodies to go into the boxes - and this year they are excited to be doing it all over again.

Remember that Pep Stores is a sponsor and is the one-stop shop for all the goodies to be included in the box.

Thanks for reading :) xoxo