Day10 and we've hit 10,000 shoeboxes!

The growing stacks of cartons

It started as an unusually quiet day in the warehouse, noticeable in comparison to the previous 3, but there was underlying excitement as the 10,000 checked shoebox milestone approached. At coffee time, the total was a few hundred under, at lunchtime is was about 50 under and then by tea time - we'd done it. But this is just a milestone and we definitely haven't finished yet. The two vans were picking up from another 9 locations today and there's 8 more tomorrow.



As the day was a little quieter, the Blog had the chance to ask some of the volunteers why they were coming, often day after day, to this large and airy warehouse. Here are some of the responses:

WHY?
"because I love children, it's a small drop in the ocean but at least it is something"

"because I can't not come now I know about it"

"because I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing"

"because I know I'm making a difference"

"because the shoeboxes mean Christmas"

" it gives me a really warm feeling inside knowing that I'm helping"

"because it gives Christmas a real meaning"

"I love the whole idea, even that I've giving to children who don't even know me"

"because it's addictive, I always want to do one more box- one more child"

and there's always one "because the wife says so" - you know who you are!


Sally Webb is one of our volunteers who came once at the beginning of the first week and has found herself coming back several times since. She is a member of Haslemere church and has packed shoeboxes for about 5 years. She was interested in the warehouse activities last year but did not have time to attend so she was really happy when she realised that she would be able to be part of the warehouse this year. She finds coming to the warehouse very addictive, and loves to know she's doing something worthwhile. She's interested in various areas of volunteer work and may even consider some overseas work to see the conditions for herself.

The sorting team in their "corner"

Todays' area in focus is the sorting area. This is the "goods in" area of the warehouse where all the donated filler items are stored and sorted before being put out on the "filler tables". The donations can arrive in a number of ways, some people have concentrated on one particular item, for example knitted items, and their bags arrive full of beautifully made hats, scarves or gloves. Other donations can contain a wide variety of items and these may need sorting into the different categories of shoebox fillers before they are put out on the tables. Often large multi-packs are donated with the intention of the contents being split up - if they're soap then the bars are individually wrapped in cling film before being put out; if they're sweets then small packs are made up. Colouring books can be split into packs of 6-8 pages and plain paper can be similarly bundled. Empty purses and bags can be paired with jewelry or hair accessories to make small gift packs.
Then, once the fillers are ready to be put out, the sorting team are kept busy keeping the stocks topped up on the filler tables. This can be a full time job in itself and it's a key part of the process as the team know the shoebox checkers will soon be quick to point out when the filler boxes run low. "We need more hats/paper/toothbrushes/toys/jewelry sets/ pencils" is a cry that the team work hard to avoid being heard.

Beautifully crocheted cradles

One filler that flies off the filler tables whenever they are put out are these beautifully crocheted bags. A closer look reveals that when turned inside-out they become tiny cradles that each have a small toy or doll snuggled within and covered with its own little blanket. They are truly remarkable and will no doubt give absolute delight to the children who receive them.




So where was Ted on this milestone day? - well again he was hard at work, helping to cover more shoeboxes that are always needed. It looks like a tough job to do if you only have paws though.

Ted in a sticky situation!

See you tomorrow!