Loading boxes are, from left, the president of Vectis Sunrise Maire Reeves, president of Newport Rotary Dereck Double, driver Roman Cornel and Vectis Sunrise’s Anne Watts. Picture by Jennifer Burton.
MORE than 3,600 shoeboxes left the Island on Saturday, heading for under-privileged children in Romania.
A 40-ton lorry was loaded with aid collected through the Rotary Club’s shoebox appeal, which will be distributed to children in orphanages and schools in Constanta.
A host of items including clothes, school furniture, tents, sleeping bags and paper, was packed into the lorry by 36 Rotarians, at a warehouse in Newport.
Many of the knitted items were made by members of the WI and other voluntary organisations as well as nursing home residents.
A number of schools were also involved in collecting shoeboxes.
"The support is always overwhelming. We had more donations again this year and it was a huge effort made by Islanders to send the aid to Romania," said Barry Reeves, of Shanklin Rotary.
• A student who presented 47 gift-wrapped shoeboxes to the appeal has thanked people for donating items to her.
Jenny Denton, 20, of Place Road, Cowes, has been collecting for the appeal for a number of years.
An archaeology student at the University of Winchester, Jenny prepared the boxes when she returned home one weekend.
"Thank you to family and friends and everyone else who gave me items to put in the boxes," she said.
Reporter: mattw@iwcpmail.co.uk