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Christmas Shoebox Target Smashed!
Posted: 13th December 2017Epping St Johns' caring ethos has resulted in hundreds of gifts being collected for the homeless.
A challenge was set for Year 11 students at Epping St John’s School to fill 60 shoeboxes with gifts and useful items to be donated to the Friends of Essex and London Homeless.
As word got around school and the colourfully wrapped boxes started to arrive, students in Year 7, 8 and 9 also got involved.
A pile of 226 boxes were eventually handed over to the charity to brighten the lives of those living rough at Christmas – with one Year 11 form donating 46 boxes alone.
Steven Stuart, co-founder of the charity, collected the boxes and said: “As a charity, we had set ourselves a target of 200 boxes for Christmas and Epping St John’s has covered that and more by themselves.
“The response from this school is just insane. I can’t thank them enough for understanding what goes on outside of their own lives.”
Sarah Montgomery, director of learning for Year 11, said: “Last year, we collected 50 boxes for Operation Christmas Child. This year, our aim was to collect 60 boxes.
“The ethos of our school has changed and children really want to be kind and to be helpful. As they see homeless people for themselves, it is something they can relate to and understand.
“I am really proud of our students; they have done amazingly well.”
Allan Osborne, executive headteacher, said: “This effort is indicative of the ethos of our school and how teachers have engendered this idea of being so kind.
“This truly is amazing.”
The charity requested gifts specifically for men and dogs.