This is not an attempt to start another debate on the pros and cons of the Operation Christmas Child shoebox scheme - that has been done to death on MN before (see last year's two long threads here and here), and as we now know, Samaritan's Purse, who run the scheme, are trying to get threads deleted and threatening legal action against some Mumsnetters (see current thread here) so I don't want to encourage anyone to get into trouble.
However, in the course of last year's threads, when the head of PR of Samaritan's Purse popped up to engage with some of the criticism, he acknowledged that in the past the information SP had provided to schools had not made clear the evangelical aspects of Operation Christmas Child, which has always been my main objection to the scheme. He therefore wrote a new information leaflet for teachers and parents which went some way towards addressing those criticisms.
It was produced too late to reach many people last year (and was hidden away in an obscure corner of the OCC website, and you needed to register even to read it) but the plan was apparently to circulate it more widely this year. In a DM to me, Brian Bennett (the head of PR) promised: "Next year expect a major revamp and unparalleled transparency - you'll have nothing to talk about!"
The leaflet is indeed now available to download from the website without having to register - it is on this page of their website, entitled "OCC - Parent and Teacher Guide".
What I would really like to know is whether this 'unparalleled transparency' is actually happening in practice. So, my question is:
If your school is still participating in the Operation Christmas Child scheme this year, what information have they given to parents (and indeed teachers) to help them make an informed choice about whether to participate? Have you been given a copy of (or sent a link to) the explanatory leaflet?