All wrapped up

Last year the Pewsey students broke all records when they took along 523 shoe boxes full of goodies to be distributed to children in trouble spots all over Eastern Europe including street orphans in Moscow and deprived youngsters in Romania and Kosovo.

Although the news of the plight of children in this part of the world has been eclipsed by the current war in Afghanistan, the pupils at the Pewsey comprehensive did not forget their less well-off counterparts in Eastern Europe.

The mother of one pupil filled 86 boxes with little Christmas surprises for the children overseas, and year nine student Carla Swatton filled nine shoe boxes.

The family of one pupil returning from the US during the half-term holiday obtained permission from the crew of their aircraft to gather all the unused 'flight socks' containing toys and crayons used to entertain children during the flight , to go into the Christmas Child boxes at Pewsey.

The boxes contain small gifts including gloves and scarves for the cold winter, sweets, toiletries, pens, paper and toys together with Christmas cards and letters of support and goodwill from the children of Wiltshire to the recipients wherever they might be.

A school spokesman said: "The Pewsey community has taken this charity to heart, as was shown by Pewsey Methodist Church opening up their hall on November 10 for a very successful collecting and wrapping morning with over 100 boxes completed.

"Our greatest number of boxes, however, does come from the students at the school."

The spokesman said the benefit for pupils came in three main ways, the feel-good factor of knowing they had helped someone less well-off, bringing the school and community together to collect gifts and enabling individuals to know that their personal contribution could make a difference.

The school send its thanks to all the shoe shops in the area who helped by saving the shoe boxes which are vital for the campaign.