TWO MILLION SHOEBOXES!

The staff and volunteers at Team Hope Ireland celebrated a landmark this week, when box number 2,000,000 was collected for their Christmas appeal. The record number was reached after 10 years of donations from families, schools, workplaces and teams all across the country – and with thanks to the many readers across the country who responded to Her's calls to support this year's campaign. You are all Christmas stars! The special shoebox was wrapped in silver paper with cute cartoon penguins on it, and it arrived to Team Hope's Cherrywood distribution centre in South Dublin. Packed for a girl aged between five and nine years, it contains a pink flamingo soft toy, scarf and hat, toothbrush and toothpaste, hair brush, soap and sponge, colouring books and markers and some sweets. It will be delivered to a child in Romania in the coming weeks. But before then, Team Hope wants to find the person who donated the box to say a personal thank you for helping them to reach this landmark. If the box was yours, please get in touch with the team through their Facebook page, or on Twitter or Instagram @TeamHopeIreland.   Speaking about reaching two million boxes, Team Hope CEO, Peter Heaney, said:

"This is a remarkable accomplishment and we would like to thank every single person who created a shoebox this year. Your gift may be the only one a child receives this Christmas and so we’d like to thank you for helping add some excitement and happiness to the lives of children affected by poverty this festive season. "Not only that, but we’d also like to shine a light and thank all the hardworking volunteers and supporters who have continued to make this appeal so impactful. To raise two million shoeboxes in a decade really is testament to the generosity and kindness of the Irish public. Let’s hope we can continue to break records with each passing year and continue to make a difference."

If you missed the deadline to fill a shoebox for this Christmas, don't worry. Team Hope is still collecting donations to send boxes to Kenya. For €15 you can give one very special gift this Christmas, and keep the numbers adding up to 2,000,000 and beyond.