Shoeboxes are flowing back to Santa’s Grotto as part of Calderdale Rotary's appeal

“The response from schools has been fantastic,” reports Rotarian Bryan Harkness.

“Collections from the schools started in the last week of November as well as from the various supermarkets who are participating and to date over 1000 have been filled by schoolchildren, shoppers and Courier readers.”

Assisting Rotary are helpers this year from Royal Sun Alliance, a company that encourages its staff to help and volunteer within the community. They are helping out by checking the contents of the boxes returned, topping them up if necessary if they have been lightly packed, labelling and racking up in by ‘type’ in anticipation of Rotary being able to make up the orders for the various charities in the coming week.

Bryan told us: “It is important that when a child or even an adult opens up a box of Christmas that a smile appears on their face.” Hence if a box has space, when checked, it is we are told carefully filled to the brim with items Rotary has bought from the donations that are often so sellotaped to the front of the boxes.

Not only do Royal Sun Alliance helpers enjoy their time spent in ‘Santa’s Grotto’ but schoolchildren love filling and decorating boxes as the picture shows as the box returned from The Halifax Academy has a fairy on top guarding its contents.

Whilst flat-pack boxes can still be collected from Tesco at Sowerby Bridge & King Cross, Morrisons in Elland & Keighley Road, Sainsbury in Halifax, Harveys CookShop and Marsh & Marsh Properties in Hipperholme, could readers please return the filled boxes as soon as possible to any of the stores as Santa’s elves are anxious to get on with the important task of distribution.

To donate to the appeal visit www.justgiving.com/campaign/Rotaryshoebox2021