To have written to the school about the Christmas shoebox scheme?

[gastrognome]

Just had a look through the leaflet sent home from DD1's school about the Christmas shoebox scheme that they are involved in.

Turns out the organisation adds religious literature to the boxes before they are distributed.

I love the idea of filling and sending a Christmas shoebox for somebody less privileged than us, but I really don't like the fact that these schemes are used as a means to evangelise. Of course Christmas is by its very nature a Christian festival but I don't think that it's right to "spread the word" by stealth.

So I just wrote to DD's school and suggested that next year they look for a similar scheme that isn't so evangelical in nature. I said I'd be happy to help research any organisations they could work with.

Do any others feel the same way, or have I turned into Scrooge?

jjkm- absolutely. If this scheme involved buying hand made toys from the country of oirign - so that the local economy was boosted too - then I would have a tad more time for it. But to pile a lot of Poundland crap into a box and send it half way round the globe when it has already trundled here from China seems insane - especially when those in need really want food in their bellies.

If people do insist on doing this then please keep the toy crap to a minimum and give what is really needed - pens and pencils and exercise books/writing paper.

joanofarchitrave - excellent!

Esta
I recall collecting pencils to send to children in Africa after my parents were told by a scout leader there that the children had to save up for a pencil before they could attend school. Such a simple thing.

And please pester SP to have genuinely Good People at the other end ensuring they really and truly do reach the most needy. Every time. Please.

MmeLindor

But reasons for children not attending school are a much more complex than not being able to afford a pencil. Cost of school fees and uniform, child labour, quality of schools, whether teachers get paid and turn up, transport, safety and security, attitudes to education, early marriage etc...

If it was just about pencils it would be simple (and could be solved without having school children in Europe collect pencils).

I don't think educators do children and parents any favours by telling them that complex problems of poverty and poor governance have simple solutions which involve sending 'stuff'.

yes, Himalya, I realised that later as an adult.

I can still recall feeling guilty that we had so many pencils lying around the house and these children wanted one so that they could start school.

Hugely manipulative but at the time it seemed like such a simple thing to do. Collect pencils and the children can go to school.

I don't think anyone is claiming that sending stuff is a "simple solution". It's just a small gesture which can bring pleasure to those less fortunate.

We did a shoebox through Link Romania.

Response from ds's school headmaster:

Thank you for your e mail regarding The Operation Christmas Child shoe box appeal
The school has a long history of encouraging the children to think about ways in which we can support others less fortunate than ourselves, especially at times of celebration.
The school has used both the Rotary shoebox appeal and the operation Christmas child to send gifts to children around the world.
Unfortunately, in recent years the Rotary Club in Harrogate have been unable to offer us the chance to participate in their shoebox appeal.
We have used the operation Christmas child appeal as an alternative way of allowing those families who wish to continue to give in this manner.
As Headteacher of a Church School I have no problems in supporting a charity whose mission is founded on a Christian ethos. I would have concerns if the charity used the shoebox appeal in a divisive and negative manner.
The Operation Christmas Child website does clearly state:

Operation Christmas Child works by taking your shoebox packed, wrapped and taken to one of local drop off points - and hand delivering it to a child in need, asking nothing from them in return. All shoeboxes are given to children in need, with no regard to their background or beliefs. We work with local partners on the ground to ensure that your gift-filled shoebox is delivered with integrity and with respect to the local culture. Where culturally appropriate, our overseas partners will make available a booklet of Bible stories, which gives a message of hope and an explanation of the true meaning of Christmas.

The main priority for the school is that we work with genuine charity groups so that any family that wishes to can continue to share gifts with a child who has nothing at Christmas.
I will discuss your concerns with the governing body and let you know how they wish to support shoebox appeals in the future.

This thread has certainly given me pause for thought. I've learned a lot.

I've emailed the Rotary Club in Belgium to ask if they have a shoebox scheme and investigated various women's refuges in my area, in case the school is willing to collect for them instead.

Still no reply from the school though.

Someone way up the thread asked about Blythswood as that's who were taking their DC's school's shoeboxes.

Blythswood

They are another Christian charity who do put in leaflets. They also collect boxes for adults, who get a calender. And a non-festive Bucket of Love, which seems much more practical but has the same cheap stuff and transporation issues as shoeboxes.

Blythswood are based in the Highlands and also run the Highland Food Bank, where needy familes get three days of emergency food as per the Trussell Trust scheme. My DC will be donating to this instead.

Esta, your posts assume that people who participate in OCC do not give to charity in other ways, that's a pretty offensive assumption.

I think the point is that shoebox appeals (religiously affiliated or not) feel to many like a tangible way of giving, and are a good opportunity to teach DC's about charitable giving and considering others less fortunate than themselves, who live far away and who they cannot relate to in general. Showing my DD a direct debit statement to Water Aid or similar is not going to have much impact is it?

I personally try to teach my DD about charity by participating in OCC this year, donating unwanted clothes to a local hospice charity, as well as letting her put coins in collection boxes when we are in town and telling her what it's for. She has enjoyed and become ecited about OCC far more, and I feel that has had the most impact for her.

Thank you gastrognome for starting this thread. It's been an eye-opener.

After reading your op I spent most of yesterday morning reading about Samaritan's Purse. It's really shocking how they present themselves in the leaflets to parents as a humanitarian charity, when they openly say on their American website that the shoeboxes are just the "stepping stone" to preach at those poor kids. It's appalling and manipulative for both the recipients and those donating to what they think is purely a humanitarian effort.

I've had a meeting this morning with DC's headteacher regarding this. The school will no longer support OCC, and will be seeking to help more appropriate charities. I've also had a promise that charities promoted by the school will have their credentials thoroughly in future.

Breadcrumbsandbutterbeans, well done

I emailed our head last night and got a message back today telling me that they do support a wide variety of other charities through the year etc, etc and failing to address any of my points (don't think he wanted to get drawn into the rights and wrongs of SAmaritans Purse etc) BUT he did say he was interested in the link to the Rotary Club scheme and would consider it in future so am vaguely hopeful......

I was Chair of Governors at a Catholic school, where each class sponsored a child overseas... then the Head discovered that the organisation expected a change of faith as a condition of sponsorship. We moved our sponsorship elsewhere after a discussion between the GB and school council - the children felt that it was wrong to make faith a condition of sponsorship and we agreed with them.

Well DS asked me about this tonight and I explained to him that some charities are good but that some are bad and tell lies, and that we won't be doing a shoebox, but we will sort out some things to take to the charity shop in town instead.

BreadCrumbsandButterBeans, and others who have contacted their children's schools, good for you :)

I still haven't heard back from DD's school.

Regardless of whether one agrees with such schemes, I think it's good to be able to make an informed choice so thanks again for all the useful information.

I?ve been involved with OCC for a few years now and my kids have done shoeboxes. Just to address some of the things being said that I know aren?t true.

The children are given boxes regardless of their religion and there are no strings attached. I know from having gone out and helped hand out shoeboxes that the children don't have to convert to receive a box or attend Sunday School or anything like that.

They definitely don?t put any literature in the shoeboxes, although I know that sometimes they do hand out little booklets with the Christmas story from the Bible (but that is up to the local volunteers doing the handing out - the distribution I went to there were no booklets being handed out).

If anything is taken out of a shoebox it?s because it may break in transit and cause damage (such as liquids). Or perhaps the item is inappropriate for a particular age group.

Shoeboxes are distributed in schools and local communities, to needy children who often don?t get gifts. The reason why this campaign is widely supported is because they?re trying to spread some love during the Christmas season to kids that otherwise wouldn?t receive it in this way.

I know that Samaritan?s Purse have been open about the fact they?re a Christian organisation and that as they use local church volunteers on the ground that is going to come across when shoeboxes are handed out. However I do think it?s worth taking your queries and worries to them directly and maybe even going down to a warehouse and seeing what goes on behind the scenes!

We do it. For a couple of years I worried about the whole evangelical thing but don't really think it matters. So you get a leaflet with your presents. Big deal. I know an evangelical Christian and although I don't have her earnest faith she's a lovely person who does good things for people. Religion motivating people to be generous doesn't bother me. Christmas is a Christian festival after all. If you don't like it, you could just knock the whole thing on the head and see how your kids feel about that? (Or celebrate Yule instead and send kids a log and some mistletoe. That should make their faces light up.)

fatfreakymum I really don't want to repeat myself and start sounding boring but please look back on all my posts about SP, especially at the strart of the thread, to see that I had a REAL PERSONAL experience of the distribution NOT being what people are led to believe over here. It can and does go embarrassingly wrong for them, despite the very kind intentions of the givers. It is not always possible to trust the local distributors, unfortunately.

Ironic really, all this fussing about the Christian missionary stuff that accompanies the boxes. If you want to avoid it why are you doing anything at Christmas at all? Do some other thing at some other secular time of year. Weird.

don't mean to sound trite, but I imagine those leaflets aren't going to be read anyway.

Esta, your posts assume that people who participate in OCC do not give to charity in other ways, that's a pretty offensive assumption.

Not at all. Although there are plenty of people who, for example, couldn't give a monkeys about the homeless for most of the year but suddenly feel a desperate need to do the soup kitchen thing just because it's Xmas.
This scheme seems to mirror that sentiment IMO. Do your bit at Xmas and then you can forget about it for the rest of the year.

Charities such as Knit A Square are a great way of getting children tangibly involved - if that's what people want to do. Kids take time out to knit a very simple small square. That is sent away to Africa where local women (usually impoverished widows) are paid to sew them together to make blankets and jumpers for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS etc.
So much more engaging and personal for the child doing the knitting - and it has a positive impact on the local economy too. Most of all it is so much more practically beneficial and long-lasting and personal than shoving a pile of tat into a box.

Himalaya -I don't think educators do children and parents any favours by telling them that complex problems of poverty and poor governance have simple solutions which involve sending 'stuff'.

Very very well said.

Issy, the whole point of this thread - and of the similar threads that crop up at this time of year - is that schools get involved and children/families are put under pressure to put together shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child without being told exactly what kind of charity is. People are not choosing to do this at Christmas even though they are not Christian - they are being 'encouraged' (with presentations at school assemblies etc) to participate, and are often made to feel mean for refusing.

If you look at the charity's own website (at least the US version - see links earlier in the thread) it is clear that the main purpose of OCC is to use the boxes to promote its religious agenda, rather than to help those in need - unlike most Christian charities, which are first and foremost humanitarian in intent, and keep any religious element very much separate.

There are plenty of other shoebox appeal organisations that schools can take part in. My DSs school has switched to one called Link Romania www.linkromania.co.uk/shoeboxappeal.

It distributes across Eastern Europe and the boxes are aimed at whole families in need, not just tat for the kids. Parents are asked to look at the website and download the leaflet in order to take part (the leaflet just explains the process and includes a contents list for customs).

In this way the charity can engage parents and children in what they are doing and why they are doing it. It works well and offends no one. Much better than supporting those those charlatans at OCC imho.