More than 2,000 boxes have already been piled into large cardboard cartons since packing began on Saturday at Breton’s offices in the Braye Road Industrial Estate.
They are to be sent to disadvantaged and displaced children in eastern European countries including Montenegro, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine.
Lady Cripwell, wife of Lt-Governor Sir Richard, was assisting with the appeal for the fourth time.
She and her Government House team had brought along 44 shoeboxes for the cause.
‘I always think this demonstrates that giving is much better than receiving,’ she said.
‘To give something knowing how much it will be appreciated by somebody who may not receive anything else for Christmas is such a wonderful thing.’
She was impressed with the generosity of islanders, as well as the dedication and longevity of the Rotary volunteers giving up their time to check, sort and pack the boxes.
‘Some of the volunteers have been doing this for 25 or 30 years, which I just think is absolutely extraordinary.
‘The way the whole island seems to come together for this appeal never ceases to amaze me. People are so generous.’
Rotary shoebox co-ordinator Hannah Laidlow said the most popular shoebox age group category so far had been boxes aimed at 4-7 year olds, closely followed by 8-11 year olds.
‘I did a presentation at Vale School recently and it was amazing the number of different questions I got from the pupils about it,’ she said.
Her team’s job had mostly consisted of making sure none of the boxes contained prohibited items, such as food and liquids, and evening the number of items in each box out so that all of them contained a similar amount.
‘We don’t want people receiving boxes with only three items in, so we make sure each one is well stocked.’
The lids of each box are kept loose so customs officers can give them a final check ahead of their transportation to the UK and onwards to Europe.
The total number of boxes delivered last year was 5,171, and Dr Laidlow was hopeful that amount could still be matched or bettered before the end of the appeal.
‘Guernsey is the biggest donor of shoeboxes in the UK. People here are amazing.’
This weekend is the last chance to drop off the shoeboxes. Shoeboxes can be dropped off at Breton Construction in the Braye Road Industrial Estate between 10am and 7pm today and 10am to 1pm tomorrow.
Find more information here.
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