The Christmas Box Appeal is back!
Millions of people enjoy celebrating Christmas. Perhaps some of us will appreciate the season more in this strangest of years, but for many vulnerable children and families Christmas will be another reminder of their isolation and poverty. FSCI’s Christmas box appeal brings joy to thousands of marginalised families and individuals in Southeast Europe every year. And after receiving positive feedback from a survey of schools the decision has been made to run the appeal in 2020.
“There’s real enthusiasm among our supporters for the Christmas box appeal to run this year”, say Rich Parsons, FSCI’s Operations Manager. “The desire to participate in an activity that feels normal and helps people to focus on others is tangible. The Coronavirus has taken a toll, but it hasn’t quelled people’s generosity and willingness to give their time to help others”.
Christmas boxes are put together by people in the UK. Each box is wrapped in festive paper and filled with small gifts such as soap, stationery, gloves, hats, toys and sweets. The boxes are distributed to orphanages, poor Roma communities, women’s refuges, refugee camps, prisoner’s children, poor rural schools and isolated elderly or disabled people in Bulgaria and Serbia. For many, this will be the only gift that they receive this Christmas. Last year nearly 10,000 Christmas boxes were donated by supporters in Salisbury, the south of England and the Midlands.
2020 has been a year like no other, but we hope that many of you will want to join in with the appeal to help spread joy to thousands of people in the Balkans this Christmas.
You can find out about making a Christmas box, or volunteering for the appeal here.