Supporting Our Community and Beyond

Samaritans’ Purse Shoebox Appeal:
Operation Christmas Child

Every Christmas Samaritans’ Purse send shoeboxes, filled with toys, school equipment and personal hygiene items to children in countries torn about by war, famine or poverty. The shoeboxes are packed by people like us , who are more fortunate.

More information about the Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Appeal.

First of all, you need a shoebox. You can use one of your own, or order one from Samaritans’ Purse. The free Samaritans’ Purse shoeboxes are very striking and attractive - red and green as you see in the picture on this page. If you would like a Samaritans’ Purse shoebox like this, please email Rosemary Johnson at 3colneswebmanager@gmail.com. We have ordered A LOT of boxes, so you’re not too late.

You will need to decide whether your shoebox will be for a girl or boy, and for which age group.

What to include in your shoebox (and also what definitely not to include).

You will also need to make a ‘project donation’ (about £5) to get a bar code which you will then stick on your packed box. (This is all explained in the link above.)

Then please drop the packed box off at St Andrew’s Church, Earls Colne, by Thursday, 13 November, so we can get the boxes off to Colchester in time.

Alternatively, you may wish to make a donation of £25 and ask Samaritans Purse volunteers to send a prepacked shoebox.

We leave boxes for donations outside our churches. Please continue to put things into them. A good time to do this is when the church is open or on Mondays when Doug will be in the porch from 9.30-10am.
…And PRAY!

If you are in need of support with food whether you live alone, as a couple or a family, please contact Revd Mark Payne for help.

Ever walked into the supermarket, seen the Foodbank box and wondered what Foodbank needs this month? Have you tried the app BanktheFood? This app pings whenever you approach one of Braintree Area Foodbank donations points and will give you an up-to-date list of the items needed .

Email pm@braintreearea.foodbank.org.uk, if you could carry out this role.

Vanessa, Communications Manager at Braintree Area Foodbank, writes:

Our current shopping list

We are proud to be launching our Harvest Festival 2025. This year not only do we have the shopping list attached, but also the ability to supply resources to churches and religious organisations to help you make the most of your celebrations. To find out more please call 01376 330694 and asked to speak to Sarah

The bare facts are that we are 17% down on donations this year and have had to spend well over £20,000 so far on food to be able to supply the parcels needed to meet demand. Any donations made from the attached list will help someone in need.

We have a group of speakers who are willing to come out and discuss the work we do and the lifecycle of a donation.

If you know of someone who may need help please call 01376 330694 to speak to one of our Outreach team.

In case your organisation wanted to make a financial donation, we are now on JustGiving

This year all we ask is that if someone can make a donation, that they understand how amazing they are for helping someone facing destitution and food poverty.

You will also see below that it is now possible to make a financial donation to Foodbank straight from your pay packet. Foodbank also welcomes one-off monetary donations.