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From Bury St Edmunds to Beslan - Hospital Staff Send Children Christmas Gifts

11 November 2004

Eighty shoeboxes packed with children's Christmas presents from members of staff at West Suffolk Hospital will be distributed to children around the world.

The boxes containing a children's toy or gift, sweets, scarf and gloves or a hat, toothpaste and toothbrush, were collected as part of Operation Christmas Child.

Operation Christmas Child has been run by the international charity Samaritans Purse since 1991 and this is the fourth year staff at West Suffolk Hospital have taken part.

The gifts will be distributed to children who are poor, sick, or suffering around the world, including the Russian town of Beslan, where a terrorist siege at a school ended and left more than 300 people killed, including nearly 200 children.

Hospital pharmacy technician Lynda Lay co-ordinates the shoebox collection. She said: "We have had a fantastic response again this year. People want to do this because this is a more personal gift to a child.

"In each box you can place a greetings card or a photo of yourself or your family to show that you are thinking of them at this time of year."

The shoebox appeal has now ended, but if you would like to make a donation to the charity write to: Samaritans Purse, Victoria House, Victoria Road , Buckhurst Hill, Essex , IG9 5EX.

Notes

Operation Christmas Child:
Since 1990, Operation Christmas Child has brought the joy of Christmas to more than 31 million boys and girls.

This year, Operation Christmas Child is working to collect 7 million gift-filled shoe boxes in North America, Europe, and Australia, and deliver them to boys and girls in more than 90 countries, including those in Darfur, Grenada, and Beslan.

 

 

   
West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust