Rotary in the community: Christmas Shoeboxes

For more than 30 years Rotary has provided Christmas shoeboxes to disadvantaged and displaced children in many countries across Europe including Moldova, Montenegro, Romania and Ukraine.

Portsmouth North have contributed to the Wessex region scheme with more than 20,000 boxes collected and distributed from the region during 2024 alone.

Working with locals schools in Portsmouth, together with friends and family, boxes have been caringly assembled to provide a child a present at Christmas who might otherwise have nothing.

The scheme is based on boxes of ‘shoebox’ size that clubs pass onto friends, supporters, churches and schools. Eachbox is filled with gifts appropriate to the selected age and gender on the box, then taken to a distribution centre for loading and distributing by road to host Rotary clubs overseas who in turn arrange local distribution to disadvantaged and displaced children in Eastern Europe.

The scheme relies upon the generous contributions from schools and our wider group of friends of Rotary.

If you or your school, church or club wish to get involved in this rewarding scheme and bring joy to a child at Christmas then please email us on contact@rotaryportsmouthnorth.co.uk and a Rotarian will be in contact with you and provide more information.