Make Christmas special for children in Haiti, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
Tuesday 24, August, 2010
Every year, generous people across the world pack shoe boxes with gifts for Operation Christmas Child, an organisation that collect Christmas gifts for children in Papua New Guinea, Haiti and Fiji.
Operation Christmas Child asked children in Papua New Guinea if they had ever received a new gift and, if not, what they would hope for. Tawhiri, a 9-year-old boy, waved his hands and shouted that he would love something to cover his head when it rained. So imagine his excitement when Tawhiri opened his box and pulled out a beanie! His joy was infectious as all the children saw that his wish had come true. They all opened their boxes to discover they were full of gifts – just for them.
This organisation and all the generous people who donate to it have changed the lives of children like Tawhiri through Operation Christmas Child since 1993. And when a child opens a shoe box, they’re opening more than a present lovingly prepared just for them. They’re opening up their community to a world of life-changing opportunities.
Operation Christmas Child invites everyone at Unitec to fill a shoe box with non-perishable items (mostly clothing, stationery, toys) for boys or girls of a specific age to be delivered in December. Last year over 30,000 shoe boxes were filled in NZ, 87 of those were by Unitec students and staff. Let’s see if we can at least double that this year!
You just need to collect an empty box and an instruction sheet from the USU Reception, the Chaplains office (bldg 28), Long Black Cafe or from Student Central at Waitakere Campus and then fill the box with exciting things for a child such as soft toys, coloured pencils, Tshirts, hats, tennis balls, puzzles, crayons, colouring books, reading books, soft toys, toy cars / dolls, toothbrush – the Two Dollar Shop is a great place to go for kids toys, lets see how much we can fit in each shoe box!
You can return your pressie boxes to any of the collection points before September 28th with a $9 donation to cover shipping costs.