CHILDREN in Eastern Europe will receive a Christmas present this year, thanks to the support of a County Durham School.

Members of the St John’s School and Sixth Form College community in Bishop Auckland have been busy bringing in gifts and packing them in shoeboxes ready to be shipped out to needy children in Romania.

The presents of small toys, school supplies and hygiene items were brought in by all members of the school community, including students, staff, parents, carers, grandparents, dinner ladies and cleaning staff. They were then packed into shoeboxes and collected by a member of the charity, Samaritan’s Purse. Since 1990, more than 113 million boys and girls in over 130 countries have received Christmas gifts in this way.

Linzi Heads, LRC manager, who has organised the school campaign, said: “On November 23, we were extremely proud and slightly emotional when 364 shoeboxes were collected from school by volunteers from Samaritan’s Purse.”

The shoeboxes will start their journey from a warehouse in Stanley, where they will be checked by volunteers before being sent on their way to children in Romania, ready for Christmas.

Ms Heads added: “Everyone in school contributed to this project in some way. It was a real community effort and by collecting 364 shoeboxes, we have proved that every little bit really does help.”