Students and staff at Camborne Science and International Academy have been filling up shoeboxes with Christmas treats to help less fortunate children as part of the annual ‘Operation Christmas Child’ collection.

The scheme is run by the Christian charity Samaritan’s Purse and it is the world’s largest children’s Christmas project.

“The shoebox collection continues to engage our students, and this year was no exception with over 500 being donated” said Mark Fenlon, vice principal at CSIA.

“The students take great pride and enjoyment in collecting the shoeboxes and are thrilled to making such a difference to the lives of young people.”

Many of CSIA’s students are involved in raising funds to purchase the items to include in the boxes, through various events such as cake sales, and each year the school’s collection gets bigger.

“We have been overwhelmed by the amazing response from students, parents and staff and feel immensely proud of the contribution that CSIA have made to better the lives of children in our international community” said Mark.

Principal at CSIA, Ian Kenworthy, thanked everyone who had made a shoebox for the appeal, “The result of all of their hard work and efforts means that an even greater number of children will receive a shoebox this year. The students really appreciate the difference that these gift boxes make. Thank you to everyone involved for such incredible generosity once again.”

This year’s boxes will be sent to Eastern Europe. Since 1993, Samaritan’s Purse has delivered more than 113 million shoeboxes to children across 150 countries.