On Tuesday 29th November fundraising for the Samaritan's Purse at Broadstone Middle came to a close. In total, an amazing seventy-eight shoeboxes have been donated by parents, carers, children and staff. These have been collected by the Samaritans as part of Operation Christmas Child.

The Samaritans have been running Operation Christmas Child as a charity for the last 20 years. They deliver the shoebox gifts to children in areas such as Albania, Belarus, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Serbia and Romania and many, many others.

To get some idea of the vastness of this operation, a recent shipment (last Friday) took with it 16,000 shoeboxes and other aid-relief including medication, clothing, walking frames and wheel chairs. The shoeboxes from BMS will join a similar shipment planned for this coming Friday and are likely to go towards helping children in Belarus.

In addition, the huge shipping containers that deliver the shoeboxes to children have themselves been funded by donations. Once the container has been emptied it does not make the return journey back to the UK and is left as a sturdy metal shell. Windows are cut into the carcass providing a suitable area for a small classroom.