Shoebox time

[Lukethe3]

Hello
Ds has just started reception so I am a newbie and had never heard of shoebox appeals until I received a letter from school yesterday.
I read the Operation Christmas Child pamphlet and didn't have a great feeling about it so I then did a search on Mumsnet. I'm very glad I did as I don't think I would be comfortable giving a gift via this organisation.
Can somebody recommend another charity to support with a shoebox?
Thanks

I would have thought the £2.50 would just about cover distribution costs.

They appear to have a Facebook page, I expect you could get some answers to details such as which churches in which countries are connected with the UK operation there: www.facebook.com/occuk

This seems fairly unequivocally evangelical:

www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk/truth-statement

and not hidden.

Their Facebook page says "Our mission is to demonstrate God?s love in a tangible way to needy children around the world, and together with the local church worldwide, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ."

Obviously this may be more evangelical the average nominally 'Christian' school, or business, but then I guess people are more tolerant of Christianity at Christmas

If the £2.50 only covered distribution costs, it'd be a fairly telling indictment of the inefficiency of this so-called 'charity'.

You could do a LOT with £2.50. Shipping a box of bits'n'bobs (mostly made in developing countries) halfway across the globe? Seriously dumb & ineffectual, hence Oxfam etc refusing to have anything to do with OCC.

but it actually doesn't just pay to move your boxes of well intentioned tat about - it also keeps a very nice salary going into the pocket of the founder, noted Islamophobic & homophobic bigot Franklin Graham.

Yes, if you go searching the Internet, you can find out what OCC and Samaritan's Purse are really about. But how many parents would realise they need to do that? They would trust the (very limited and incomplete) information passed on by schools.

So why can't Samaritan's Purse be a bit more open about their aims in the promotional material given to schools?

Probably because they know that if parents and teachers had a clear idea of their actual aims and methods, their support would dwindle to a small core of people who actually agree with their brand of evangelism.

They should do what any reputable charity would do: be completely open and upfront about their goals, and allow people to make an informed choice. As it is, they just come across as sneaky and dishonest.

The rotary club does a box scheme - they even supply you with the box and they are not saved until Christmas, they are also given out at other times of the year.

www.rotaryshoebox.org/