Greenbrier 4-H club members look forward to filling Christmas shoeboxes each October as a community service project that gives to less fortunate youth in other countries. They were happy to find that the program was still happening this year, but due to COVID-19, the mechanics of the operation in the Greenbrier Club were altered.
With social distancing, the club met at Clover Hall for its October meeting and closed the night by choosing items that had already been purchased for the boxes. Included were hygiene pieces like washcloths and soap, school supplies including notebooks, pencils and colors, and then fun objects like balls, stuffed animals, cars, or dolls. This year each box contained an original Ty Beanie Baby 4-H bear.
When finished with the boxes, Dakota Ostrander asked, “Can I make another one?” And new member Eli Hardaway asked, “Is it okay if I decorate my box?”
The enthusiastic 4-H members made 22 boxes.
The Christmas Shoeboxes, after being filled with gifts, will be delivered to children around the world. These are children who have been affected by war, poverty, famine, disease, and natural disaster; and to children living on Native American reservations in the U.S.
Since 1993, Christmas Shoeboxes have been delivered to more than 168 million children in more than 100 countries. It is hoped that the boxes, especially those that go to Central/South America and Eastern Europe, will arrive before Christmas. But whenever received, Greenbrier youth will have given those children the opportunity to experience the joy of Christmas.
