Blythswood Care’s Christmas shoebox appeal in the UK has been bringing holiday cheer to people in the poorest parts of Europe for years. Get to know some of them.
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Since 1993, Blythswood Care has distributed more than 2.5 million shoeboxes to give comfort to people who are poor, isolated or rejected.
Most of the boxes are given out in Eastern European countries like Hungary, Kosovo and Ukraine. People receive them in places like churches, hospitals, orphanages, care homes and their own homes.
Get to know some of the recipients of Blythswood’s shoeboxes and their personal stories here.
Personal stories of the recipients of Blythwood’s Christmas shoeboxes
Meet Ismedin
Ismedin received a shoebox from Blythswood when he was four years old. He was very happy with his little presents, which included a toy, sweets and a hat.
Other members of his family received boxes too, and like Ismedin, they were so grateful for what they were given.
Ismedin lives with 11 members of his extended family in a small house with a single room in Gjakova, Kosovo.
They are very poor. That’s why receiving necessities like a bottle of shampoo or a pair of gloves makes all the difference in their lives, especially in winter when their living conditions become even more challenging.
Meet Marioara
Marioara is the youngest of ten children. Like Ismedin, she lives with her brothers and sisters, parents and granny in a one-room house that functions as a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom for everyone. For the older children in the household, the space was also a study room.
The family’s house is surrounded by mud but inside, they keep the floor clean and they regularly wash their clothes.
Marioara was so excited to get a present for Christmas that her mother Elena struggled to keep her in her arms.
She was over the moon about her toys but she loved the jelly beans. They were her favourite treat from her shoebox.
Meet Krasimir
Eight-year-old Krasimir is in second grade at school but he’s still unable to read.
Yet he eagerly reaches for the colourful book in his shoebox from Blythswood and persuades his older sister to help him. “I want you to read me this story!” he exclaims.
Krasimir has six brothers and sisters. They live with their parents, all crammed in a small room in the Roma community in central Bulgaria.
For poor families like them, every item in a Blythswood shoebox is a big help and a gift that will go a long way.
Meet Andora and Antonio
Three-year-old Andora was eagerly waiting at the door when gift-filled shoeboxes were distributed in their area in Bathore, Albania.
With a smile on her face, she opened the box that was given to her. She was overjoyed to find a small but beautiful doll and kept caressing its long hair.
Her brother Antonio was sleepy and didn’t want to come out at first. But his grandmother called him and told him that a gift was waiting for him. He was amazed to find a car in his box; he couldn’t stop staring at it.
After rummaging through the contents of their boxes, both Andora and Antonio looked in awe as they discovered soap in the shape of a rabbit.
Joining them, their mother was happy to see a colouring book after she tried to draw shapes that week for Andora and Antonio to colour.
The lovingly wrapped shoeboxes almost did not make it to Andora and Antonio’s family. The boxes came in a lorry load that nearly did not clear customs in time for Christmas. But thankfully, warehouse space was obtained for the boxes and they brought so much holiday cheer to children like Andora and Antonio.
Meet Emil
Emil lives in Jimbolia in western Romania.
Without a home of his own, he seeks shelter in a semi-derelict building owned by the local authority. The building has no electricity, heating or running water.
Emil has nothing but the clothes on his back and the frame he uses to help him walk.
He lives on leftovers he finds in bins. Once in a while, he receives food from his neighbours.
That’s why every Christmas, he is genuinely grateful to get a shoebox from Blythswood. Filled with essentials and little gifts like a warm pair of socks or a packet of sweets, the carefully gift-wrapped box shows Emil that somebody somewhere cares.
Take part in Blythswood Care’s Christmas shoebox appeal UK
Download the checklist and prepare a shoebox.
Help bring the gift-filled shoeboxes to where they’re needed most. Donate as little as £3.
For more information on the Christmas shoebox appeal in the UK, visit Blythswood Care’s website.
Read more: 6 steps to bring joy this holiday season
