A CHARITY is celebrating after being given warehouse space to ensure it can pack thousands of Christmas gifts for deprived children.

Operation Christmas Child opened at its temporary home last week on Broomhall Business Park in Broomhall, Lane, Kempsey, with volunteers working hard to ship out nearly 5,000 gifts.

“We would like to thank both the Worcester News and the Berrow’s Journal for all their publicity,” said Worcester branch organiser Sue Tindall.

“Also, their stories brought in two new volunteers who offered to help in the warehouse and transporting the shoeboxes.”

Business park owner Colin Anstey, who had provided a warehouse for the charity eight years ago, read the article in the paper and decided to help them again.

“They are such a good band of enthusiastic people and it’s such a good cause,” he said.

He has given the team a warehouse for the three weeks in November so the 40 or so volunteers can collect, check and store the boxes before they are dispatched to Eastern Europe, former Soviet Union countries, South America and Africa along with 11 million other shoeboxes from around the world.

“It’s lovely, warm and clean and just what we needed,” said Sue.

“Also, his call came just in the nick of time and meant we didn’t have to leave Worcester after 17 years here and travel instead to Wolverhampton to pack the boxes.

Twelve months ago, Philip Ralph, owner of the Guinness Park Farm Business Park at Bransford, near Worcester, offered them a free unit but it is unfortunately booked up this year.

Last week, Sue visited schools in Droitwich, Evesham, Pershore, Castlemorton and Malvern where pupils have taken up the challenge of filling shoeboxes.

The charity can pick up the shoeboxes or they can be dropped off in Worcester at any of the Andrew Grant offices, Shoezone, The Entertainer toy shop, Nicol Estate Agents, Stock and Lock Self Storage Unit, Venture Business Park and the Fox Inn, Bransford.

Or they can be brought direct to the warehouse between 10am and 2pm from Tuesday to Saturday and until 9pm on Wednesday.

To find out more details visit the charity’s website operationchristmaschild.org.uk or email Sue on Sue.tindall@hotmail.co.uk.