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Xmas Parcel Appeal Updates
** 15,351 ** Final Update The response to the Appeal 2007has been overwhelming and we're absolutely delighted to report that a grand total of 15,351 parcels were sent out by SOS co-ordinators, each parcel representing the support and best wishes of the British public! Below you'll find updates from myself, Agnes and our wonderful team showing how the parcels were put together and sent on their way! Please also see Xmas Parcels 2007 page for pictures of the parcels being received and thank you letters! Karen - Bingley Well this year we have quite literally been overwhelmed by the genorosity shown by so many individuals, organisations and companies alike. Words cannot express our gratitude for the kindness shown. There have been so many wonderful gestures made and whilst I would love to mention each and everyone of them unfortunately that just isn't possible. Please do know however that every single item received, every single penny donated is very, very much appreciated. So to avoid taking over the whole of the page, this is a very condensed (!) report from the Bingley team - I'd like to begin by thanking our fantastic pack and wrappers - now fondly known as paws - without them this quite literally would not have been possible! Packing & wrapping began on the 17th November and pretty much continued on a non stop basis throughout the next three weeks! So sincere thanks to Jean, Irene and Emma who answered our call for help in the papers, to Anita and David, Bev, Pauline and James, and Sharon and Jake who turned up week after week and simply got on with it, turning the living room into a full scale operations room! To Patsi and Pat for travelling all the way from Bury to help out. And special thanks to my daughters Becky and Sammi, my daughter in law Kat, my grandaughter Sophie and Judith for being there constantly and working tirelessly.
Karen, Anita, Kat, David, Judith & Bev Jake
Bev, James & Pauline 'Princess' Sophie & the decorations
Becky (still watching telly!) Bev on a roll! Sincere thanks also go to Sgt Duncan Sims, PSI Keighley TA and to Sgt Kerry Naylor and cadets from Bingley ATC who came along to load and deliver the first batch of parcels to the local sorting office. And thanks too to Nicky and Josh for helping here! Many hands ....
The first batch of 895 parcels on their way! Thanks to Denise and Andrew who brought over their own parcels, plus a wonderful selection of items collected by staff at Bradford & Bingley Crossflatts & Bingley offices, plus lent a hand at a very opportune time. Roped in I think you might say!
Denise & Andrew The Royal Mail have been absolutely fantastic and special thank yous to Philip at Bradford Sorting Office and the post man who's name I didn't get for all their help and being so cheerful too!
Batch Two 975 parcels Batch Three 924 parcels We've been delighted to see so many children getting involved this year. Contibutions have included a selection of poems, stories and colourful drawings all completed by children who attend the British School of Madeira, Madeira Portugal and organised by Tracy Pfaff, Editor of The Brit, fantastic cards made by made by the children in Primary 4 at The Mary Erskine and Stewart's Melville Junior School and more beautiful cards made by the children at St Margaret's Sunday School. AD Astra First School also made a very kind donation. St Margaret's Sunday School British School of Madeira
The Mary Erskine and Stewart's Melville Junior School Once again members of 1st Bingley Scout Group which incorporates the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts, took part in the Appeal and put together fifteen wonderful parcels plus a beautiful hand made cake. Many thanks to Joy for organising this.
Our own branch of Army cadets took part for the fifth year running but were joined this year by branches throughout West Yorkshire, working with Helen our Huddersfield representative too. These included Mirfield, Thongsbridge, Spen Valley, Huddersfield, Skipton, Odsal & Bingley. In total they collected 157 boxes in just over two weeks. Bingley also wrapped 100 parcels in about an hour - a huge help!
Many and sincere thanks go to Damart who provided us with literally thousands of posting sacks. A very important factor in our packing procedure and much appreciated!
Moving on to donations, our very sincere thanks go to Ken and Ann Dodgson of Morley, Leeds who presented us with a cheque for a grand total of £1,056.25! Contributions towards this were made by Management and Staff of First Leeds at Bramley Garage, First Leeds Marketing Manager - Charles Donnelly, Morley Lions, Members of South Leeds Golf Club, Committee members of the Yorkshire Rabbit Golf Association, Guests at the dinner of the Leeds & District Rabbit Golf Association, Morley Walking Club, Morley Family HIstory Group, Thursday Owls and finally friends, neighbours and Councillors in Morley who attended their coffee morning. This is a remarkable achievement and we really are very grateful to Ken and Ann for all that they've done. Ken and Ann Dodgson Sincere thanks also go to Grahame and Liz Walker who drove over from Southport and presented us with a wonderful 34 made up parcels and donations totalling £572.50. This is the second year that Grahame and Liz have taken part and we're truly grateful to them and to everyone who has contributed. Donations were made by South Sefton Rotary Club, Southport Meols Rotary Club, Southport Probus Club, Holy Trinity Church Southport and Mr & Mrs Colin Ryan. Unfortunately I don't have a picture at the moment but will add this as soon as possible. Sincere thanks also to Ian Waterworth of the West Riding Submariners Association for delivering 25 beautifully made up parcels. Again this is the second year that they've taken part and the support much appreciated. And to Diane Heath and everyone at The Dibb who between them sent a grand total of 158 parcels. Diane told us 'We have all enjoyed the project immensly and I know that some folk have been so keen that they will be contributing to SOS year on year now.' Great news and thank you Diane for putting so much effort into organising this. Many thanks also go to: Jennie Stagg and everyone at Tilehurst Bingo Club in Reading who collected many boxes of parcel fillers and sent them up to us. Steph Ball in Tidworth who collected a wonderful £500 SLM who collected £100 at her son Nick's welcome home party 241 (Wanstead & Woodford) Squadron Air Training Corps for many, many parcels all beautifully packaged and with lots of fun items too! Staff & customers at the Volunteer Arms in Stockport who held a fun day & raised £265. Verity Radford for sending three huge boxes of parcel fillers - all the way from Hong Kong! And thanks also go to the press for their fantastic coverage. A special mention must be given to Liz and Vicki-Marie of the Metro who have not only promoted the appeal throughout but have also encouraged companies to donate goods, two van loads to be precise! Just a few of the articles published locally - Karen's Christmas surprise for troops And the Appeal also featured on the One Show - http://www.bbc.co.uk/theoneshow/article/2007/12/cb_packages.shtml These really are just a few of the highlights of the Appeal and of the wonderful donations or parcels that we've had through. Again I'm sorry not to have mentioned everyone but, as I said above, we are truly grateful for every single contribution. The result of everyone's kindness was a grand total of 3,040 parcels sent from here in Bingley! I think that speaks for itself! Thank you one and all!
Agnes - Ayr Can you believe an amazing 2,500 parcels sent by Agnes!!! Report and pictures will be added as soon as she's caught her breath! This really is fantastic and huge thanks and congratulations go to her for such a marvellous result. A very brief few words from Agnes for the moment - "Our final total was 2500.....with another four parcels sent this morning and 6 packing cases of stuff, too big to send out, to Selly Oak and Headley Court. Thanks to Dave Rose & Staff, Kyle Centre Ayr, without whose generosity in providing accommodation and assistance, this would not be possible, to everyone who donated items/cash to purchase, all my Scottish 'helpers' and my local team of Shona, Carol & Mamie (The Cumnock Girls), Bob & Margaret and Liz, Nan Hatfield, Jane, my sister Martha and hubby Ronald and pal Gordon McKillop. Last but not least, Grant, Dave and Jim from PO sorting office, Ayr, who have ferried all the parcels to their destination for us. Thanks to all the co-ordinators & helpers across the country who helped make this the best ever CP Appeal. Have a Happy Christmas and a Peaceful and Guied New Year. Agnesx"
Alison Morton, NHS24's Information Governance Manager presents cheque for £350 to Agnes raised in the dress down weekend held throughout the NHS24 Centres in September Press article for McVitie's who donated goods towards the Appeal, collected by Agnes It'sa mcvitie's Xmas for our troops abroad Andrea - North Harrow An amazing 438 parcels sent by Andrea who we really coerced into helping but who has taken the Appeal under her wing with remarkable results. Andrea's thanks go to: Victory Services Club for 2,000 pens and 2,000 bars of soap British Airways for 100 Club class wash bags & toiletries and 24 packs of cards Harrow Skills Centre for packing equipment and shoe boxers Harrow Rifle Club for free storage and free use of premises for packing Derby Dale AOW for 200 Santa Hats Manchester AOW for 40 boxes Harrow ATC Cadets for toiletries, sweets, Xmas puds and decorations and to the following for their very kind donations: Portsmouth AOW Isle of Wight AOW Looe RNA Harrow Royal Artillery Association Greenwich AOW Kenton AJEX Grimsby AOW South Dorset AOW Edinburgh AOW Bournemouth AOW Market Harborough RNA Swanley & Darent Trefoil Guild Woking AOW Cleavland AOW Buchlyvie Garden Society Reigate Luncheon Club Dover Group AOW RAF Uxbridge Mrs M E Jones Mr M Brown Mrs Irene Wesley Mr & Mrs Grover Joan Cole Mrs A Skeats Mr R & Mrs T John Mrs S Booth Graham & Lyn Tonge Pete & Jo Fleet Roger & Peppi Bennett Louise - Barrhead Although not joining until the end of November, Louise sent a wonderful 79 parcels! Louise's report - " After joining the appeal late at the end of November I was worried that I would not be able to provide much assistance. However with the help of the following people/companies I was able to donate a few parcels for the lads and lassies. My thanks go to the following: Neilston Day Care Centre who donated approx 24-30 parcels from the elderly clients and families. Special thanks to the centre manager Michelle for all her wonderful effort. Barrhead Police Station Barrhead Fire Station – Blue watch Asda, Newton Mearns Semi Chem, Barrhead 2nd Blantyre Guides Company – Yvonne Watson Tesco, Barrhead The Perks Family The Dougan Family The Cairns Family I would also like to give a special thanks to my mum for letting me mess up her house for so long to enable me to make as many parcels as I could. Merry Christmas and a very Peaceful and Happy New Year Louise" Yvonne - Bo'ness Yvonne sent a wonderful 22 parcels and says "Our first year in Bo'ness (near Falkirk) was a slow one to begin with and then a surge of goodies arrived! In the end we posted 22 parcels and can't thank everyone enough for their patience and help - especially Agnes at SoS who must've been scunnered with my constant barrage of email questions! Special thanks go to Leeanne Young and Lisa McCormack who provided boxes brimming full of great items. Myra Macvicar was another Godsend I must also mention Rory Gardnier and colleagues for the bags of items that could never have fitted into my car - thank you to my mum and dad for letting me borrow theirs! Grateful thanks also to Ian Rollo, Rhona Graham, Alex Simpson & Martine McNiff for shoe boxes. Massive shout to... Leanne Grant & Catherine Grant with a great big hug for helping me pack & wrap it all - my 20 minutes guess was slightly wrong - it took us a couple of hours! Oh and thank you to James Grant for all the lifting and carrying! Lastly, thank you to John Angus and colleagues at Bo'ness Sorting Office for being so kind and helpful. is it wrong that I am looking forward to next year?" Patsi - Bury Patsi and her mum in law Pat sent a wonderful 235 parcels collected from the Bury area. Special thanks to both of them for bringing the parcels over to Bingley, the second journey needing two cars, and for giving much needed help with our packing and wrapping. Patsi's report - " The people I would like to thank are: Deanna Podmore Pat and Keith Hurst Friends of Pat Hurst Colleagues from Lex Peter James Packaging 3rd/1st Eccles Scouts Members of DoCrafts Yvonne Marshall Colleagues from Royal Mail Sheena Pryers Naomi and Francesca Sharp Nicola Sharp Joanne Fielding Louise Watt Janet Weedon Jackie Phythian Friends, Family and colleagues of Emma Dickson Friends, family and colleagues of Amanda Thomas SO many people contributed in so many ways and I would like to say a huge thank you to them all, if I have forgotten anyone I am very sorry!"
3rd/1st Eccles Scouts who donated lots of items for parcels! Joolz - Warrington Awaiting final total from Warrington but picture shows the 17 parcels made up by Bickershaw Youth Group. Thanks guys for doing these!
Michelle - Wirral A tremendous 1,122 parcels sent by Michelle. Full update to follow! Time to show our troops we do care at christmas - Liverpool Echo
Lyndsay - Inverness And a wonderful 62 parcels sent by Lyndsay! Lyndsay would like to thank her childrens school Raigmore primary school for all their help and their donations and also to Lush for donating toiletry items and to the Inverness press and journal for their article they wrote about the parcel appeal. NORTH CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED TO GIVE TROOPS MERRY CHRISTMAS Carole - Norwich An amazing 547 sent by Carole and Muriel from the Norwich area. Carole's report - "I just want to say a few thank you's, Terrington St Clements Community School, for your lovely parcels and cards, Sarah Marriott who collected a staggering 109 parcels from her work colleagues at PPG Industries, Norwich, Capt. Steel for use of the TA centre on Aylsham Road for use of the TA centre, Aylsham Road Army Cadets for packing and wrapping, and standing on the gate at the TA Centre, Danni and hubbie who worked very hard packing and wrapping, Karen and Dave thank you so much could not have done it without you, you were great and the people of Norfolk who donated the beautiful parcels, to David & Gail Ball for your donation, Irene Ball for your parcels Kinnerton Confectionery, Crown Confectionery for your donations The Factory shop for your donation and all of your shoe boxes, Shoe Zone for your shoe boxes and lastly my mum, who did all the shopping, running around, taxiing, and general dogs body, and thank you for delaying your holiday to help me, you were brilliant. We sent out a total of 547 boxes. Thanks again to everyone who helped"
Pupil from Terrington St Clements Community School who made up parcels! Peter - Devon Peter sent a wonderful 140 parcels thanks to the generosity of the people in Devon. Joe - York Our York team sent 23 parcels. Ruth, the Student Action Chair played a massive part in the Appeal and this is her report - "In November 2007 as part of The University of York's Student Action Week we were proud to help make over 20 shoeboxes to send via Support our Alison - Andover Alison sent out a wonderful 324 parcels in total - this is her report -. Alison also bravely undertook a sky dive on behalf of SOS - thanks Alison!!
Mary - Walsall And an amazing 480 parcels sent by Mary from the Walsall area! "I am very proud to have been part of such a wonderful and worthwhile appeal and it has really opened my eyes to the amount of support we have across the country for our service men and women. Probably one of the best things that has come out of it personally is that it has really been a boost for my son, he was as pleased and as proud as punch when he saw all the donations come flooding in, so I know first hand that the lads (and lassies) appreciate all the efforts from the SOS appeal!!" Full report below - The response of the local Walsall community was overwhelming. Our pack and wrap was organised over 6 weekly sessions at my home and finished on the 7th December when the last few parcels were posted. Sincere thanks to Kelly, Christopher, Craig, Josie and Kate for all their help. Sincere thanks also to everyone who donated to the Appeal and for the many wrapped parcels from both named and anonymous donors which were delivered to our drop off points - Kelly Bland, parents and teachers at Elmore Green School for parcel fillers and cards BSC Diecasting - parcels and fillers Garry Perry - Parcels, fillers and a donation Staffordshire County Council/Staffordshire University Staff - 6 large packing cases full of parcel fillers Walsall FC - Parcel fillers, t-shirts, caps, magazines and cards Walsall FC drop off point - individual parcels and large quantities of fillers, anon donations Aquila Trucking Company - Sack of individually wrapped presents and handwritten cards Mrs M Davis - donation Mr & Mrs J Davis - donation Mrs Waites - donation Mrs Leech - donation Mr & Mrs Marshall - parcels Residents of Maryvale Court - individual parcels Tracey Forrester and residents of Shelfield Community - £90 donation from raffle plus parcels Osprey Ward, Manor Hospital - £30 donation in lieu of personal Xmas cards Wards Jay, Christopher Robin, Swan, Heron, Maternity, OPD, Dental, Catering,Imaging and A & E Depts, ITU, HDU, Medical Secretaries and Management - Individual parcels, parcel fillers and cards Mr T Head - Donation Sainsbury, Cannock - £10 voucher Picture Framers (Hannah Dorman) - parcel fillers Kate Allbutt - parcel fillers Mrs Kelleher - parcel fillers Matalan, Reedswood & Bescot - unlimited shoeboxes Special mentions go to: George Makin, reporter from Walsall Advertiser for supporting the campaign Lyndsey Hunt, reporter from Express & Star for her support My father in law, Chris Francis for coming week after week to wrap and address more than 90% of all the parcels Kelly Bland for coming week after week to help sort and wrap the parcels Kelly's Report - "My brother is in the Armed Forces and has toured Iraq. He will be deployed to Afghanistan in 2008. I really wanted to find a way to support our troops so I searched the internet and found the SOS website. I wanted to do as much as possible for the Xmas Appeal so I decided to involve the children's school, Elmore Green Primary School in Bloxwich. Hundreds of flyers went out to all the parents and carers asking for a small donation. We had a fantastic response, both from the school and from the workers of BSC Diecastings of Bloxwich who all gave generously. I fell that this is a fantastic cause and shows that a little gesture goes a long way. I'm looking forward to getting involved again next year!"
Marie - Chester Marie's total was a brilliant 120 parcels. And from Marie "Thankyou so much to all that have donated for the Christmas Parcels.. The Pensioners Club in Saltney.. Dara (RAF Sealand) Suzanne from Bagilt. Penhaligans of London chester branch donated some lovely personal gifts. Lush. The Body Shop. & The Big Storage for the free storage & Delivery .To Rebecca at Chester Chronicle.. & a Massive Thankyou to the guys at the Army Careers office in Watergate street for all the help they gave right down to Delivering items to my home last week to help me make the christmas deadline Thanks guys .& to everyone else sorry I dont have the names of everyone.Have a Safe Christmas & a Very Happy New Year & Remember spare a thought for our brave troops away from home this christmas.....Marie"
Chester woman's 'support our troops' plea Deana - Aberdeen Dawn - Rugby Hilary - Chichester A fantastic 490 parcels despatched by Hilary from the Chichester area! This is Hilary's report - "A very very big thank you to all that made up parcels, donated goods, or gave cash to our Appeal.With the help of family & friends we were able to pack, seal & dispatch 490 parcels to our lads & lassies. We had a very enjoyable day, even if exhausting! A fantastic number that I never imsagined we would achieve when I started. I have all ready received communications from 2 of the addresses to say they have arrived & thank you. Donations were received from the following : Major Roper 7 Rifles Royal British Legion (Selsey) Royal British legion (Chichester) Royal British Legion ( Tilehurst Reading) Stuart Sutton Milly Lovegrove Horsham Cadets The Body Shop International Div. RBS Group Pensioners Assoc.West Surrey Area) Manager & Staff Clintons Cards (Chichester) Manager& Staff Holland & Barrett ( Chichester) Manager & Staff Body Shop (Chichester) Manager & Staff Lush (Chichester) Chichester Rangers Joan Laker Manager & Staff Evans (Chichester) Manager & Staff Officers Club (Chichester) Malcolm Robinson, Aileen Boswell & friends, Paula Miller, Yvonne Brown and all those who have donated anonymously"
Amanda - Leicester A wonderful 80 parcels sent by Amanda in Leicester. This is her report - "Firstly I couldnt have done it at all without my fab sister Karol, Jack and Liam ( 9/12L cadets), HQ 9/12L, Jon, Chris and Lisa, Leicester Royal Infimary, WRVS, Test Centre, plus the many staff who bought goods in, Mrs Cleaver, Sally, Jjoyce, Mr & Mrs Healey, Mr Stern, and many people who called by on the day with packages. Laura - Nottingham Laura sent out 170 parcels, another fantastic result. Her thanks go to
Donna Bailey - for 10 gorgeous parcels,
Malcolm and Marilyn Perks,
Angela Judge &
Joanne Price; for their parcels. To
Kelly Cooper for all her hard work and great 24 parcels for the appeal.
Special thanks also to Kelly who advertised the Appeal through her work and handed 24 parcels over to Laura. Kelly would like to thank Chris Vickers, Peter Scott, Andy Struther, Steve Cooke and Mark Heini for their individual donations, The Co-operative, Alfreton for a £50 voucher and made up parcels, Border, Riddings and qs of Alfreton for donations of products, Allen Vending, Nottinghamshire for lots of boxes of chocolate bars, Wilkinson, Alfreton for a £10 voucher, Walrus Office, Derby for parcels & products, and Jonathan James, Alfreton for shoeboxes.
Emma - Stockport Soldiers boxing clever thanks to your Christmas spirit Christine - Chepstow A grand total of 229 parcels were sent by Chris, another fantastic result. Many thanks to Christine and everyone who supported her in the Appeal. Lynn R - Leeds Lynn and her team in Leeds - Kazza B, Gwen, Katrina and her granddaughter Caitelynn packed a wonderful 56 parcels this year. Lynn says "We really enjoyed ourselves and met some lovely people in the process"
Julia - Birmingham Julia has managed to send 1,859 parcels!! A remarkable achievement and sincere thanks go to everyone who assisted Julia in the Appeal. This is Julia's report - Birmingham thanks go to - THE HILTON HOTEL GROUP - 300 CONDITIONERS SHENLEY COURT SCHOOL - BOXES WOODGATE INFANT SCHOOL - BOXES HOLWELL INFANT AND JUNIOR SCHOOL - BOXES CROWN PLAZA HOTEL - BOOKS/FOOD STUFFS CADBURY SCHWEPPES - 2000 PCKTS CHEWING GUM JOLLY'S PET SUPERMARKET - PET FOODS/DOG CHEWS DIGNITY FUNERALS - BOXES MORRISONS SUPERMARKET RUBERY -- £75 DONATION OF GOODS ASDA BROMSGROVE - ALLOWING COLLECTION OUTSIDE WILKINSONS STORES DROITWICH - ALLOWING COLLECTION OUTSIDE MORRISONS DROITWICH -- ALLOWING COLLECTION OUTSIDE MATALAN REDDITCH ----- SHOE BOXES KIRKPATRICKS REDDITCH ---- TRANSPORT BROWN AND HOLMES ---BOXES BT - Donation North Worcs Round Table----- donation Maxwell Jones Studio ------- Donation of SOS banner Plus hundreds of members of the public for donations and boxes Special thanks to the helpers George,Collette, Mandy, Marie, Sharon and families for all their hard work, help and support. Here are all the press references,,, but there may still be some to come!!!!
The wonderful banner was prepared and donated by Roger of Maxwell Jones
The following pictures are from Maria in Bromsgrove who helped Julia with the Appeal -
Carol & Maria
Young helpers, Chloe age 2 who's mum's in Iraq and Kaylea age 9
Their oldest packer - Stan aged 84!
The parcels arrive in Iraq with Maria's son Phil
This letter was sent by Cameron, aged 9. We're delighted to report that Cameron received a personal thank you for his box, and is encouraging all his school friends to become involved as well. Well done Cameron!! Helen - Huddersfield Helen was able to send a fantastic 402 parcels and her sincere thanks go to - Sara Hallam, Clare Taylor for collecting parcels from the Derbyshire area – over 100 in total. The Factory Shop in Chesterfield for donating £90’s worth of goods. Chesterfield Royal Mail for delivering the parcels to me FOC. Thongsbridge & Mirfield Cadets & Beverley Craig for all her help. Todmorden Guides Mike Mee & the Yorkshire Beekeepers Association for donating 80 jars of honey & marmalade Sgt Major Nick McConnell & his lads for help with the pack & wrap, Capt Barry Hay for free use of the TA building. Volunteers Jill Noble, Tracy Wyke & Susan Dickinson for being the only help I had with the pack & wrap Coverage was provided by the Huddersfield Examiner:
Julie G - Stevenage An amazing 400 parcels sent out by Julie. This is her report - Hi everyone, Just want to say a huge huge THANK YOU to everyone who has helped me put together this amazing number of parcels. It has been a wonderful couple of months and I have met some lovely new friends who I hope to keep in contact with and have their permission to call on them again next and they like me will begin to get organised earlier. Thank you to: Tesco Stores The Forum, & London Road Stevenage for vouchers The manager Boots Stevenage Town Centre masses of toiletries for ladies and men QD Stevenage voucher Sainsbury Distribution Centre Waltham Point Essex. Two very large parcels of sweets, biscuits, crisps, biscuits, teabags. Richard my ex who has been a real support through all this. Marks & Spencer Stevenage a huge box of lovely goodies . Co op Store The Hyde Stevenage put collecting box on counter and two parcels collected. Body Shop a lady in the body shop was very kind and found me toiletry bits and pieces. Andrea Malley and family thank you for the parcels. Irene Moulding, family and friends Stevenage for 14 parcels. Abigail Gortons mum Angela age 74 partially sighted organised 66 parcels then found a friend to drive her to Stevenage to deliver these. It took then 1 ¾ hours. Thank you Andrew for doing the driving. Kier Graham who caught the train from North London to Stevenage to drop off 5 parcels containing food from around the world. Then got the train back. Caroline Broadbent Biggleswade for dropping off a large number of parcels and wants to continue support throughout the year. Jackie Simmons for parcels A young lady aged 17 who posted three parcels to me. Anne Griffiths North London thank you for the lovely parcels when checked two more were able to be made up. Deborah Charles and mum Irene Howard, family and friend Salvation Army Stotfold Bedfordshire an amazing 36 boxes put together in total. Kerry and friends Spiritualist church Brentwood Essex bags and boxes of goodies. Norman and Rita Peacock, Cheltenham A special thanks to Carol King and the Teaching Assistants at The William De Ferrers school, South Woodham Ferrers and to Havering North Inner Wheel Members 36 parcels plus goodies. Maureen McKenzie and the Beaver Scouts Knebworth, Hertfordshire 10 lovely boxes. Norma owner of local village shop, Whitwell who organised a piece in the local church magazine and offered to be local drop off point so thanks to the people of Whitwell too. Careline North Herts District Council for putting together parcels for boys and girls plus extra goodies. Tenants of Poynders Meadow for organising coffee morning and then shopping for what I was short of. Lime Tree House tenants have done the same, donations collected and shopping list completed! Julie has parcels for troops all tied up
Pauline - Stoke on Trent A fantastic 57 parcels were sent by Pauline and she would llike to say a big THANKYOU to all those who have donated in any way and this includes the following:- Pat McGarry and TEAN Royal British Legion for money donated towards 11 boxes. Frankie Bull for donations from the Cricketers Pub and boxes from Boltons Veteran Football Club at Oakamoor and to Mrs. Rigby for doing these boxes. Manitube workers at Cheadle.
St. Augustines School for donations and beautiful cards made by the children some only 3 years old. Each box had at least 2 cards in them. Superdrug, Wilkos, Lloyds Chemist, Health Matters, Dots sweets stall, Chris James all from Longton. Walkers no- such toffee.
Pennywise. Mr. & Mrs. Mycock. Kevin Grainger and work mate.
Kim - Newcastle & Joyce - Sunderland Kim & Joyce have worked very closely together and between them sent a fantastic 446 parcels. Kim's sincere thanks go to Susan Mulholland & Shiv Pabary who gave several tubes toothpaste/mouth wash, Ritchie at McDonalds gave massive box of assorted dips, sauces, cereals,syrups & tray of fruit shoots. Alan Chapman from Slatyford Det, Northumbria army cadet force collected many donations through his various contacts, army cadets,staff at Nobles of Team Valley. Blaydon and District Metal Detecting Club gave vast amounts of assorted items, also Ron from the club gave £20. Also Alan's wife Dianne got involved and asked work colleagues to donate, between herself and staff at M&S at Gateshead Metro Centre they gave two very generous boxes of goodies. Caroline Campbell of 2510 West Denton A.T.C. donated bags of goodies, Thomas Henderson and Jordan Halbert from 2510 also donated items. Stephen Campbell gave a cheque for £50. Liz from Aldi kindly gave £30 to spend in any Aldi, I chose Gateshead Metro Centre SO big thanks to all the staff there for helping me. Liz arranged my info to be sent to the other areas so BIG thanks to Darlington Branch that sent letter saying they would give me £30 also. Johnathon at The Toby at Kingston Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, gave 3 vouchers to be raffled these will each allow 2 people to have a free meal when they decide. Matalan of Kingston Park Newcastle upon Tyne for VAST amounts of shoe boxes. Gails Hairdressers at Kenton Bar held a collection box and collected £8. Asda Store at Gateshead Metro Centre for allowing us to have a collection there , we raised £218 thanks to the generous people. Denton Burn Conmmunity Centre for being a collection point. Residents of Flexbury Gardens for their donations. Marion Rousse of James Shoes Newcastle upon Tyne gave £15. Lisa Heatley, Jill Teasdale, Wendy Cameron and Jill Kelly gave £5 each. Gemma of Holiday Express Hotel at Metro Centre gave a beautiful made up shoe box. Val Healey gave around £30 worth of items for our boxes. Heather Brooks of Hexham gave 3 bags of goodies aswell as £10. Ann called me up last minute to drop off some lovely things to pop into our boxes. Of course a big thank you to Paul and his counter staff at Benwell Grove Post Office Newcastle upon Tyne for taking all my boxes and having a fantastic attitude towards our appeal. I can only apologise if I have forgotten anyone. Thank you to everyone! And Joyce would like to thank several people for donations of parcels;- Karen & Tony Marchetto, Helen Tavener, Jill Dawson & her mum, Anita and the ladies of Whitburn Slimming World (Sunderland), Gail Sweeney, Pauline & Keith Sweeney,Kev Brydon, Joan Mowat 225Med Sq T.A. Sunderland, Mr & Mrs Johnstone, Luke Hunter & his friends at Pallion Ambulance Station, and last but by no means least. III Squadron Air Cadets Sunderland, who amazed me by putting together 43 boxes. Sainsburys store Silksworth for donating items to put in boxes. McDonalds Farringdon for various sauces. Mills Newsagents East Herrington, The General Store Farringdon, The Post Office Farringdon. for letting her put up Posters and leave collection boxes. Well done girls, you've done a wonderful job in the North East! Cherrill - York Cherill sent 176 boxes, 160 of these full of goodies and 16 full of flip flops! Cherrill also visited Brayton College to collect 50 parcels, their press release is shown below - "Year 7 and 9 students at Brayton College have been busy supporting troops overseas as the run up to Christmas comes. Over 50 boxes packed with gifts were prepared by the 11 and 13 year olds following Remembrance Day assemblies. Neil McDonald, the Head of History said "At Brayton College, it is part of our ethos to focus on our caring for those in our community and that includes those who will be away from their family and friends at Christmas as they serve the country in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. We hope that the men and women who receive these parcels know that the students at Brayton College who made them hope that they enjoy the gifts but also that they are being thought of back here in the United Kingdom."
Wonderful to see the schools involved and we're very grateful to staff for encouraging pupils to take part. Lynsey - Taunton An amazing 489 parcels to the Marines in Afghanistan plus 20 further female parcels to Iraq! Jane - Peacehaven Jane joined us late in the day but still managed to send 17 parcels collected from her husband's work, family and friends. Andrea - Northern Ireland An amazing 500 parcels despatched from Northern Ireland which is fantastic! Andrea would like to thank Shankill Mirror and Greater Shankill Community Council, Shankill Health Centre, Ballysillan Primary School, Edenbrook Primary School, Sandra and Elizabeth from her local post office and everyone in her local community for their kind donations. Mel - Blackpool The count from sunny Blackpool a brilliant 56 parcels. Mel says " I've thouroghly enjoyed these last few weeks, it's kept my mind busy . I will be lost without the parcels so I do hope there is a project for the new year." And true to her word Mel's already begun her fundraising efforts for next year and is raffling a giant teddy which she won last week! Many thanks Mel, you've been a star! Mel would like to thank - "The Beach Tavern , south promanade, Blackpool smirnoff ice promotion stuff, xmas hats , chocolate coins . Tesco Extra , Clifton drive , Blackpool . £10 voucher Wilkinsons Stores , Nutter Road , Cleveleys £20 vouchers Mrs Bernadette Walsh , Accrington . £20 high st vouchers Members of www.accringtonweb.com Various items Maria Lee & Jane Miller and all at DWP Communications network Blackpool Various items Mrs Jill Solway and all at daughters school Much need shoe boxes. Mrs Sheila Wood and friends London and St Annes on Sea areas Various items Mrs Victoria DaSilva and local scout group . My own family for time patience and all help with packing . Thanks to all that sent out messages of support and everyone else who has kindly been involved with this years xmas parcel appeal. So from Blackpool may i say thankyou and Merry Xmas ... " Tracy - Ely A wonderful 109 parcels sent by Tracy B in Ely. Her sincere thanks go to
Ridgeons of East Anglia for all their donations and being a collection point,
Pauline Woodbridge (her mum!) for helping with the parcels,
Ely Army Cadets,
Tesco of Ely,
Waitrose of Ely and
Brentwood Air Cadets.
Tracy's Appeal was published in the following articles: Vicki - Todmorden FINAL FINAL xmas box count now is 109 all wrapped & last ones posted. Again Vicky would like to thank everyone who helped her including Hanna pictured below who is just 16 but put 8 lovely boxes together by herself. The picture shows Hanna with Vicky's son James, home on R & R.
I'd like to add a personal thanks to Vicky for coming over and helping with the packing and wrapping. This was a huge and much needed boost! I'd also like to share with you a few words written by her - "this whole thing has been a life line for me with James in ......., its kept me strong so a big thank you for letting me help" which goes to show that being involved can be a benefit in many ways. And it's really been our priveledge Vicky - thank you. Lynn - Blackburn Lynn received 45 boxes from a nice family in Burnley who have now joined the SOS web site!! Jackie and her mum Cath. She also received 17 boxes from a child care nursery in Darwen who have also very kindy sent a further cheque donation. Trudy from Blackburn donated two boxes and has signed up to the site too. The Lancashire Evening Telegraph published reports about the Appeal which you can view here: Lancashire Evening Telegraph Initial Report Lancashire Evening Telegraph Update Report On Wednesday Lynn sent her final 7 boxes which were donated from another Burnley lady. Lynn has sent 127 boxes to Afghanistan. Lynn would like to thank everyone who has contributed and has really enjoyed being part of the project. So much so that she's agreed to be part of our official team - Welcome on board Lynn! Sharron - Sherbourne Sharron was able to send an amazing 200 parcels and says - "I would like to thank my Neighbour Jenny and her friends for all their help on our first pack & wrap session. I would also like to thank everyone who made this parcel collection possible by supporting us with their donations: Sainsbury in Sherborne - 12 Christmas puds Card bar Sherborne - 8 pks xmas cards paper Thanks to Cherie from Eastborne for the donations she collected & I wrapped... made 100 parcels out of that lot Cherie.
7th November 2007 Ray Gascoyne from Rotherham contacted us back in July to offer his help. Ray is secretary of the Barnsley Branch of the Green Howards Association and is delighted to report that his parcels are now wrapped and ready to head off to 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment in Afghanistan. We really appreciate all the effort that Ray and his wife and friends have put in to these, and we know they will be much appreciated.
Press Coverage Some more links to articles in the press - Can you help provide festive shoeboxes for soldiers 6th November 2007 Vicky, our representative for Todmorden, was out collecting at Gordon Riggs garden centre over the weekend & managed to completely fill her collection box to the top! A great response and sincere thanks to everyone who contributed and to Vicky for standing out in the cold all day!
5th November 2007 Over the weekend Kat and I attended the Dauntless Association celebrations of the 90th Anniversary of the formation of the Women's Royal Naval Service. It was an honour to be invited, and to meet such kind and welcoming people. On the Friday evening Snail racing took place and one of the races was the Grand SOS Smashional. The sponsor of the winning snail was Marjorie Douglas-Law and the picture below shows Marjorie receiving her sponsor's prize. What we'd also like to tell you is that Marjorie is 86 years old and has baked 150 Xmas cakes for the parcels being put together by the Ruislip Branch!
We were delighted to be presented with a cheque for £100 from members of the Bournemouth Branch. The picture shows Pam McCarthy, Elaine Bray Nee Tier, Polly Laird and Val Brigden Nee Howes. Thank you ladies!
Shirley Smith Nee Wind AKA Breezy presented us with a lovely made up parcel -
Further donations of £60 from the Portsmouth Branch, £35 from the Shrewsbury Branch and individual donations from Mr & Mrs Preece, Helen Wirght, Bobbie Logan, Pat Goodall, Diane Clarke, Margaret Street, Dixie Dean, Don Ritchie, May Leishnen, Mrs B Hughes, Mr & Mrs J Speir, M Williams, Mrs R Saunders, Kathleen Orr, Jo Dobson, Geordie Robson, Mo, Angie, Janette, Janet, Eve Horridge, Barbara Draper and Jean & John McCullogh of Leeds were also received plus a lovely parcel from Barbara Draper. A special donation of £45 was made by Jennifa of the Glasgow Branch which had been collected from villages in Buchlyvie, Stirlingshire. Thank you one and all for this. Andrea gave to us nuge batches of puzzle books, plus 2,000 soaps and pens very kindly donated by the Victory Services Club. As if that wasn't already enough, a Teddy Bear Raffle was held over the two days and the proceeds of £400 split between the WRNS Benevolent Trust and SOS. Rita from Services Wrendered kindly presented us with the cheque for £200.
And finally the wonderful ladies from the Manchester Branch gave us over 40 pre-packed parcels! They're also sending a team over to help pack and wrap!
So our very, very sincere thanks to everyone for their wonderful genorosity, and a special thank you to Andrea Wrigley for inviting us to the event and to her and Jonny and Rita for making us so welcome!
The total proceeds over the weekend £670! FAPs from Ani Delighted to receive from Ani a wonderful parcel filled with FAPs made up by herself and forum members. These are made up from material rather than card and again the workmanship is outstanding. Sincere thanks to Ani and everyone who sent these, they will be much appreciated!
October 29th 2007 Well the Parcel Appeal has taken off this year in the most remarkable way and we've literally been inundated with donations and offers of help. Because it has been so busy to follow is a very brief summary of what's happened to date, and we do hope to add to this page far more regularly over the coming weeks! As many of you know, the official SOS Charity Launch took place on the 27th October and we were delighted to be made some very special presentations - From Craig Lundberg a wonderful donation of £500 from The Freddie Fund. Craig presented us with the cheque so that parcels could be sent out to his friends and colleagues still serving overseas. Sincere thanks to Craig, and to all his wonderful family for organising this.
We were also delighted to receive a cheque for £100 from Pastor Darren Johnson collected from the friends and congregation of King's Church Warrington. Thank you so much Darren, and Joolz too for her involvement with this. And as if they weren't doing enough already, our very own SOS ladies very kindly presented £55 towards the fund, you're stars girls - and boys! - thank you. Very belated yet sincere thanks to Jill Bending, S Gandy and Hilary Dolan for their kind donations of Bookcrossing books for the parcels. To our own Di G for sending a huge box of facecloths! To Emma in Gibraltar, Brenda Bishop and Kate Lindsay and her friends, Margaret Gregson, Margaret Morgan, Elizabeth Hughes and Julia Powell for all the beautiful hand made Xmas cards. Everyone said their cards might not be good enough but believe you me they are beautiful and such obvious love and care has gone into the making these so thank you one and all!
Press Coverage Appeal to give our soldiers a little festive cheer Send Marines some Christmas cheer Forces group wins charity status News at a glance - 26/10/07
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