Shoeboxes
Since 2017, St John's have been supporting the building of a children's home in Central Transylvania, Romania, which not only houses orphans and former street children, but also works with local Romani communities who are marginalised and find themselves on the very edge of society.
The "500 Smiles" Shoebox project gives children from these communities quite literally the only present they will receive at Christmas time. Working with local schools, community groups and of course church members, we now send around 1000 boxes every December, simply to let these children know that they are loved and that somebody cares about them.
In the video below our mission partner in Romania, Attila speaks about the impact the project has made in previous years.
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Shoeboxes can be collected and returned to St John's, and full details of what can be included are supplied with each box but the
2025 Packing List is also available here.
Please make a difference this Christmas, and help a child to smile.
Thank you.