Some things of Interest

THE WAREHOUSE

By now you should have received the details of where we are located this year..... However, just in case you have missed this, we are located at Midleton House, 12 Midleton Road, GUILDFORD GU2 8XW. 

Directions from Guildford are: head out along the A25 go past Frankie and Benny's on your left, pass under the railway bridge and then turn immediately left into Midleton Road Estate, Fox's Garage is on the corner. Follow the road up the hill and round to the right and Midleton House is on your left.
PLEASE NOTE: There is no right turn into Midleton Road, so if you are coming from the other side, leave the A3 at Woodbridge turn off, take the A25 up to PC World turn right at the lights and right again to come back on yourself and follow the instructions as above from Frankie and Benny's

We are putting Operation Christmas Child posters in the windows so we will be easy to spot.

Opening from 13th November to 3rd December

Opening Hours
Monday to Friday 9.30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday 16th, 23rd and 30th Nov, 9.30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

See you there 😃

A LOCAL VOLUNTEER MEETS A SPECIAL VISITOR 

Most of us have seen or met Vera, I don't think Vera will mind us mentioning she is one of our oldest volunteers, she still comes to the warehouse and still does knitting for us. She is a real local girl and lives in the centre of Guildford.

Jenny and Heather popped in to see Vera last week and picked up some knitting, we were able to surprise her with a special guest, Honey, who is here in the UK on a year out of her studies from university in Kyrgyzstan. Honey was one of Jenny's interpreters back in March when she went to Kyrgyzstan on a distribution trip. Honey was visiting Jenny so was able to meet Vera and thank her for her work and explain how important the shoeboxes are out there. Honey also told us about the time she got a shoebox and how much it meant to her.

TRAINING

Whilst many of you have been coming to help us for years, we do have to train everyone each year. So again, this year will be no different. It is very important that people are up to date on anything new, it's always good to have a quick reminder and for those who have never been before it is very important they do know what is required and what is not to be included in the shoeboxes. Also for new people it is part of making them feel welcome, confident and valued. 


THE TEAM IN KYRGYZSTAN AND THE UKRAINE 

Let's not forget that whilst we are having fun in our super warehouse, as well as working very hard too of course, we have a team of local agents out in the countries our shoeboxes go to. Our agents are the ones who work under very strict regimes and often in dangerous situations where they research, find and decide who will receive the shoeboxes. How do you decide when you only have half the number of boxes you need? Who gets one who does not? It must be a very difficult task. It is not just the communities that are near or in the city that receive boxes, they go out all across the country where often it is difficult to get around. Therefore they spend a great deal of time away from their loved ones. They are totally dedicated. 

Jenny said it was a huge pleasure to meet our agents during her trip to Kyrgyzstan earlier this year and their generosity in both time and dedication to the delivery team was fantastic, they made sure they saw so much and met so many of the different individuals and communities.