irjo Raits
Sooke News Mirror
Do you have lotions and potions, scarves and mitts that you can’t use? Have you got surplus makeup, shampoos, swag?
This holiday season, Linda Ferguson is coordinating the Shoe Box Project in Sooke.
The Shoe Box Project is a charity that supplies women in emergency shelters with a few luxuries they may not be able to afford or may have left behind.
What if staying safe, staying warm and protecting your loved ones… surviving… was what your life had become? It’s during these times you need a gift more than ever. A gift to let you know that someone remembers you, someone is thinking of you, someone wants to show that you matter, said Ferguson.
“What happens is that the public takes a shoe box and wraps it after it is filled with items women in shelters would appreciate,” she said.
Items which are used and appreciated include new or unused items such as something warm, mitts, scarf, hat, sock, specialty teas; something sweet, nut-free chocolate, candy.
Personal care products such as lotions, potions, shampoos, gift cards, bus passes supportive messages. They ask that you do not include razors or perfumes,products with nuts in case of allergies or alcohol-filled candy.
The shoe boxes should be wrapped with the lid wrapped separately as it would need to be checked before being given out. They request no bows as the boxes are stacked.
Ferguson thinks this would be a fun project for a group or family or even for a bunch of women having a girls’ night. In Sooke, filled shoe boxes can be dropped off at Little Vienna Bakery on West Coast Road. Shoe boxes can also be dropped off at Ferguson’s home, please call first: 250-507-7723.
Donations can also be made online at:www.shoeboxproject.com, hash tag for Victoria: #SBPYYJ.
“It’s just a really good way to give during the holidays,” said Ferguson.
Donating “shoe boxes” does not need to be done only during the holidays, boxes could be dropped off at shelters on Mother’s Day, Canada Day, any day.
Sooke’s Transition House Society can be reached at 250-642- 2544.