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STATEMENT OF HEARTFELT THANKS

Thanks to your generous donations we were able to send 178,639 shoebox gifts to children in 13 (including 4 online) countries across Eastern Europe and Africa as part of the 2021 Christmas Shoebox Appeal.  For many of these children, this is the only gift they will have received this Christmas (or in their lives before).

We know every box contains precious items that can transform a child’s life; a simple pen and notebook could be the passport that a little girl needs to be able to walk across the threshold of a school building and start her journey through the education system.  Similarly, a pair of gloves and a wholly hat can keep the cold at bay whilst a boy tends his sheep in the harsh winter storms; but he can still enjoy being a child as he plays with the toy cars and ball that he also found in his shoebox gift.

By building a box this year, you have made a huge difference in a child’s life.  Below are some of the stories we have received from our in-country partners, who we work with all year round, which explain how you have changed lives by donating your gift.  The stories and pictures we receive from them are just a small sample of the impact you have made.  Please remember, it’s not just the individual children’s lives you are touching – your kindness spreads to the families and communities around them as well.  Through the giving of a shoebox we sometimes find areas where we can help even more and with advice from our Partners, who know the areas best, we can support and develop projects to help turn around the lives of those families and, hopefully, improve their opportunities and futures.  The ripple effect you start with your shoebox gift can never be under-estimated.

We’re extremely grateful to our national drop off partners, in particular to Dealz; as well as Toymaster, First Stop and all our independent drop offs points across the country for their involvement the Appeal this year. We’re always overwhelmed by the incredible support of businesses and groups that get involved and this year was no exception.  Once again, our Appeal was supported by some truly amazing volunteers from companies including Medtronic and Aerogen and there were hundreds of other individuals who gave their time freely and supported us to make this year such a success.

As always our Ambassadors champion our Appeal and help us spread our message of hope.  They encourage so many people across Ireland to get involved in the Appeal.  We are so grateful to Elena Tice and Josh Van der Flier for all they have done for Team Hope, particularly this year, when they were both training so hard in their respective fields.

We thank our individual volunteers with all of our hearts, those we have met and those who we haven’t gotten to, we are so grateful to you. We wish we could list the name of everyone who contributed to this incredible appeal, whether you gave an hour or 100 hours (or more!).  So many people were exceptionally generous in giving their time and skills to help us when we needed them most.  Thanks go to Castlebar Fire Brigade and Nenagh Civil Defence, and many other groups for travelling across their counties to collect shoebox gifts from drop off points.  Similarly, our group of Super Knitters across the country knit and crochet all year round and created some truly astounding fillers.  Every volunteer is valued and we will never forget what you do for us.

Finally, we want to thank you, our donors and supporters for everything you have done to make this year so amazing.  We could not continue our work without your support, generosity and love for the children who receive your gifts.  It makes such a huge difference.  To find out more about the Christmas Shoebox Appeal or to make a financial donation towards our year-round work, please visit our website www.teamhope.ie

Thank you again – behind every box is a child who you have helped make smile.