Spreading a little happiness in Eastern Europe

Dundee’s Rotarians, Rotoractors and Interactors, their families, friends and Dundee students have excelled themselves in this year's Rotary Shoebox Scheme Christmas Collection. The Rotary Club of Dundee, with outstanding support from local schools Harris Academy, Morgan Academy, St John’s RC High School and Dundee High, contributed no fewer than a stunning 197 shoeboxes to this year's collection. The shoeboxes, which can be filled with small gifts and useful items for babies, boys and girls, teenagers or families respectively, are sent via collection points around the country to Romania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Albania, Croatia, Kosovo and Moldova, where they are distributed to families and children. Final delivery is undertaken either by Rotarians from the UK, by locally-based Rotarians or by selected charities including Hope and Homes for Children.

On the 13th of November the first of two consignment of ‘our’ shoeboxes was delivered to Spectraglass in Perth, the nearest to Dundee of the three collection points in Scotland. The Spectraglass team took receipt, palletised the boxes (with, it turns out, the nice round number of 181 shoeboxes going onto each pallet – who knew?) and loaded them onto trucks from Aberdeen and elsewhere for their journey south to England and from there on to their final destinations in Eastern Europe. 

Pictured are Jim Crowe and Rev William McLaren of Abertay Rotary Club who turned up just in time to help unload our boxes. Scott of Spectraglass also lent a most welcome hand to proceedings. Also pictured is Dai John, Chairman of the International Service Committee, thinking that if this goes on he’ll have to get a bigger car.