A CHRISTMAS shoebox charity is encouraging people to start thinking about gathering inexpensive gifts for children in Romania.

Last year Boxes of Hope Cumbria delivered 11,040 beautifully wrapped boxes filled with presents, thanks to the kindness and generosity of Gazette readers and people across South Lakeland, Eden and Furness.

A truly local charity, Boxes of Hope sends a team each year to give out the shoebox gifts, with help from a well-respected Romanian Christian charity, People to People.

There are no staff costs, so any surplus money goes straight to school projects in deprived villages in the Eastern European country.

Gazette readers old and young have shown they love to fill a shoebox, says the charity. It is a simple and fun thing to do, doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, and it really does make a difference to a child who has none of the basics we take for granted. Many of the children have never had a gift in their lives, or even a toy.

Boxes of Hope is encouraging people to start looking for empty shoeboxes and for bargains such as toiletries, stationery, warm hats, scarves, gloves and socks, small toys or games, and sweets.

Further details of where to drop off shoeboxes will follow in the autumn, and you can find out more at www.boxesofhopecumbria.co.uk and on the charity's Facebook page. To get in touch, email info@boxesofhopecumbria.co.uk