FAIRPLACE Wives and Friends Group has packed a record number of 481 Christmas shoeboxes that will be shipped to Eastern Europe this year in order to give less fortunate children a happy Christmas.

Last Thursday (October 27) group members spent time packing the Christmas shoeboxes with presents with help from other volunteers from Okehampton and the surrounding area.

All year round the members of the Fairplace Wives and Friends Group have been knitting, sewing, making jewellery, dressing dolls and collecting items such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, flannels, cuddly toys, pens, pencils and exercise books to fill the boxes.

Knitted hats, mittens and scarves, puppets and games were also added to the shoeboxes in order to give lots of children a happier Christmas.

The secretary of Fairplace Wives and Friends Group, Shirley Webb, said: ‘The families in Eastern Europe where the shoeboxes will be delivered are very poor and can’t afford presents at Christmas. We dedicated the boxes at Sunday morning’s service conducted by our minister Rev Liz Singleton who showed DVDs of where the shoe boxes in Angola were delivered this spring following the ebola outbreak.  

‘The children in Angola were delighted. We also dedicated the shoeboxes collected by All Saints Parish Church, Sourton Parish Church, Hatherleigh Methodist Church and others handed into the Fairplace shop in the Arcade. So thank you one and all.’