Highland charity Blythswood launches biggest drive of the year with call for donations and volunteers for Shoe Box Appeal
ONE of a Highland charity's biggest drives of the year is well under way in a bid to spread the joy of Christmas to thousands of people most in need.
Blythswood Care's Evanton headquarters will be a hive of activity between now and the turn of the year as volunteers coordinating the Shoe Box Appeal swing into action.
A call for volunteers to help process donations in Inverness has also been issued.
Lending her support is Highland MSP Kate Forbes who paid a visit to see the work now under way. She said: “I am delighted to help launch the Blythswood Shoe Box Appeal this year. It’s a great initiative that has been running for years.
“It gives us all an opportunity to look beyond our own happy Christmases and give a gift to somebody in another country. These small gifts make a huge difference. It would be nice to see as many shoeboxes as possible once again this year.”
Blythswood’s 2018 Shoe Box Appeal resulted in 107,073 boxes being distributed in Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Kosovo, Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine.
Filled with useful gifts such as toiletries, sweets, stationery and small items of clothing, the boxes are given to low-income families, school children, hospital patients, people with disabilities and special needs, and to homeless people.
To get involved in Blythswood’s 2019 Shoe Box Appeal, go to www.shoeboxappeal.org or call 01349 830777. Blythswood needs volunteers to help process boxes in Inverness, Evanton and Maryburgh.
