Shoeboxes for Romania?

[KatyMac]

Are these OK?

I know some are & some aren't

This appears to be called load the lorry

"Radio Broadland staff and presenters will be on hand to help you load your shoebox onto the Lorry. Driver Frank will be behind the wheel to deliver your shoeboxes to the Ciacova area of Romania in time for Christmas."

So how do I tell?

[PhantomOfTheChocolateCakeAvena]

Hmm. The red cross do these aswell, I'd be tempted to go with a charity I know.

[Crocodilius]

I'd give to an established children's charity with a track record you could check.
Prob GOSH or a local children's hospice.
Lots of horror tales about some of the shoebox schemes - which has sadly tainted the idea.

[PortAndDemon]

Load the Lorry is organised with Caritas Internationalis, a a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development and social service organisations. The background site for their Romanian activities is here. There doesn't seem to be anything particularly dodgy about them on the Internet.

[KatyMac]

Thanks for that

It's being done through DD's School & I was NOT giving to the ones I know were dodgey but I couldn't work this one out

Thanks Port&demon that is what I needed to know

[johnbarrowmanlovesme]

We have had an Operation Christmas Child leaflet from School, what is wrong with it?

[PortAndDemon]

Information on Samaritan's Purse (the organisation behind Operation Christmas Child) here and here. Plus you can see from this thread from last year (shoebox given to son of a Mumsnetter at his private nursery school) that the boxes aren't very well targeted.

[PortAndDemon]

The Mustard Seed Relief Mission one? I don't know much about them, but haven't heard anything bad. Operation Christmas Child did start using the "Love in a Box" tagline themselves a couple of years ago, but the Mustard Seed one is different.

Unless you mean this Love in a Box, in which case I wouldn't involve your chikldren...