Thanks for Caithness donations as Blythswood sends 84,000 boxes to Ukraine and other eastern European countries
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Caithness contributors helped a charity donate more than 84,000 boxes of gifts and essential items to eight countries in eastern Europe this Christmas.
Blythswood’s 2023 Shoe Box Appeal sent 84,655 boxes to people of all ages in need of help.
The last lorry left the Highland-based charity’s Kent sorting station on December 15, with 6181 boxes for Ukraine. It was the third lorry-load of boxes for the country in crisis, and many of the recipients will be people displaced from their homes by the war.
Alan Swanson, Blythswood’s head of UK projects, said: “This year’s Shoe Box Appeal has been a great effort by donors and sorters and by all our staff and volunteers. I’m so glad that once again we have been able to send boxes to Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Kosovo, Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine.”
Blythswood’s chief executive James Campbell has returned from distributing boxes in Sliven, Bulgaria.
He said: “It’s always deeply moving to see how much your gifts mean to the people who receive them. At a time when so many of our supporters are struggling to make ends meet at home, I want to thank you all for your generosity.”
Blythswood’s Shoe Box Appeal began in 1993 when 300 boxes were sent to Romania. This year’s appeal brings the total to over 2.6 million. Containing day-to-day essentials such as socks, toiletries, sweets and woolly hats, the boxes are distributed in orphanages, care homes, hospitals, Roma villages, refugee centres and prisons.
Blythswood is a Christian charity, with a mission to transform lives through the impact of education, community action and gospel activities. Founded in 1966, it has a head office in Evanton, together with 18 shops throughout Scotland and a further eight in Northern Ireland.
