THOUSANDS of children in the developing world who are anxiously awaiting a box full of Christmas goodies from Limerick will be sadly disappointed unless the organisers of the appeal can find a warehouse.
Team Hope Shoebox Appeal were given space in the former Dell premises last by the City of Culture team, as there was space in excess of the city’s needs. But this year, the premise has been sold for use as a film studio.
“We’re really struggling this year,” said Norah Collins ,one of three co-ordinators of the appeal in Limerick.
“We’ve written to every estate agent, contacted anyone we can think of but so far, we have no premises and time is running out,’ Norah told the Limerick Post.
Use of a warehouse is vital so that Team Hope volunteers can work with sorting and checking the boxes before shipping them off.
Last year, generous Limerick people sent more than 8,000 shoeboxes stuffed with toys, sweets and other gifts to children in Lesotho brining a little of Christmas into the lives of children who have nothing in the way of material goods.
The Team Hope volunteers need a space from the 2nd of November and, Norah says, they will guarantee to be out of there by November 20.
Ideally, they need a space between 5,000 an 10,000 feet, preferably with a loading bay.
“But we’ll look at anything at this stage,” said Norah.
“Limerick people are so generous and our volunteers are fantastic. The schools are already working on getting their shoeboxes ready. It would be a terrible shame if the appeal can’t happen in Limerick this year because we have no warehouse space,” she said.
