Villagers spread ‘Love in a Box’ with Christmas appeal

St Mary’s Church in Wistaston and St Luke’s in Willaston have launched their annual shoe box appeal.

The congregations are collecting as part of a charity effort run by Teams4U which supports children in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Bosnia and Romania.

And there’s been a great response from kind-hearted Wistaston and Willaston villagers.

The Rector, Rev Mike Turnbull said: “We’ve been doing a Shoebox Appeal at St Mary’s and St Luke’s for over ten years now.

“Over the past five years we’ve partnered with Teams4U who do a fantastic job of gathering and distributing them to many countries including Ukraine.

“It’s a lovely way to give ‘Christmas Joy’ to a child at Christmastime who might not receive any other gifts for Christmas. As a church we love doing it and it’s a very simple idea, with minimum effort, but maximum impact.

“Many other local churches do a Shoebox Appeal each year so there may be one near to you where you can drop a box off to.

“Any shoebox will do, wrap it in seasonal paper, leaving the lid free to open for a customs inspection, and then drop it to a local drop off point which can be found on teams4u.com.”

There are many ideas on the charity’s website on how to fill the boxes for boys and girls of different ages and these include small toys, hats, scarfs, colouring books, sweets and toiletries.

If you would like to drop one to St Mary’s Wistaston the office is open Tuesday-Friday, 9:30am-12:30pm, or to church at the 10:40am service of a Sunday.

The deadline is 16 November.

You can always contact the Church Office for more information, give them a call on 01270 567119 or email, office@stmaryswistaston.org.uk.

For more info, or to do an online Shoebox, go to the Teams4U website https://teams4u.com/