Editor:
I want to congratulate the Sunshine Coast community for filling 1,224 shoebox gifts with school supplies, hygiene items, toys and a personal note for needy boys and girls aged two to 14 in 2009.
All these children will know they are loved and not forgotten in spite of living in extreme situations. The totals of the shoeboxes collected in B.C. for 2009 are 109,350 and the total for Canada was 640,440. The boxes from Canada were shipped to Paraguay, Venezuela, Chile, Guatemala, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone.
The following is an update received from Samaritan's Purse with some details of their involvement in Haiti after the recent earthquake: "Plans to send a container of gift-filled shoe boxes (approx. 9,900) to Haiti have had to be put on hold for the time being because of the extensive damage the earthquake caused in Port-au-Prince, where the main sea port is located. As the people of Haiti continue to deal with the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake, Samaritan's Purse has a new method for you to support them in a practical and personal way by partnering with Samaritan's Purse to give them a hygiene kit. Each $30 kit includes a month's supply for a family of five of bathing soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, feminine napkins, laundry soap, and dishwashing detergent.
See www.samaritans purse.ca to learn more or to make a donation. Or call me, Martha Schroth, local collection centre co-ordinator, at 604-886-8545.
Martha Schroth
Operation Shoebox
