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 over 800 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.
Thank you for all your support to send 860 shoeboxes to Romania in 2025.
To be part of the project in 2026 come to St John's Church to collect a shoebox, use the packing guidance to help you gather items for your shoebox and then return it to church by 22nd November.
You'll be given a copy of the packing guidance when you collect a shoebox but you can also
download it here.
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