Dear Parents and Carers,

Operation Christmas Child 2015

This year we are participating in the ‘Operation Christmas Child’ campaign 2015.  This campaign helps to bring joy to the lives of children at Christmas through the power of a simple gift.  Since 1990, more than 113 million boys and girls in over 130 countries have experienced love through the power of simple shoebox gifts from ‘Operation Christmas Child’.

We will be sending home a leaflet (and a shoe box) for each family today explaining how you can join in with the campaign.

1. Use our shoe box.
2. The lid needs to be secured to the box with an elastic band .
3. Fill with gift (it is recommended that you include items from each category on the flyer list).
4. Please note, chocolate and other perishable food items are not acceptable. However sweets with a sell by date of March 2016 or later are acceptable.
5. Please read the small print on the leaflet to make sure that the items you include are suitable.
6. Attach the girl or boy sticker to the shoebox, ticking the age of the child that you intend the box to be for. It has been reported in previous years, that boys age 10-14 get fewer boxes than any other children!
7. Please include a donation of £3.00 per shoe box to cover the cost of shipping.

The preferred method of paying this is online. Please write the online reference number on the back of the payment envelope attached to the leaflet completing all details or if you choose to enclose a cheque or cash instead, please complete all your details.  If you pay online you will then be told which country your box has been delivered to.

1. Once completed please place the envelope inside the shoe box.
2. Please ensure you complete all sections in order for Gift Aid to be reclaimed.

There is no obligation to participate in Operation Christmas Child this year, but we would be very happy to receive your donations of the shoe boxes for this very important campaign.  We will then be tracking where in the world the shoe boxes go and learning a little more about each country.  If you are not able to take part please return the shoe box to us and someone else might be able to use it.

Please bring your completed shoe box to school by Friday 13^th November 2015.

If you would like more information about this campaign you can find information on their website

 http://www.samaritans-purse.org.uk/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/

We hope that you will be able to help us to support this campaign this year. If you would like more than one shoe box for your family to fill, please let us know. 

Thank you for your continued support.