In November, we will be sending Christmas shoeboxes or individual items to go in shoeboxes off again to Link to Hope. I thought that rather than rush around just before Christmas when money is often at its tightest it might be an idea to make a suggestion each month for some of the things that we’ll be asking for that you can perhaps collect and put away.

Last month’s focus was on toiletries. Some of the gifts that you can include are shampoo, shower gel, soap, flannels, and safety razors. Dull – you might think. Absolutely not, the charity tells of an image that remains firmly in their mind of a little girl snatching the shampoo when she saw it and running off. Five minutes later they walked around the corner to find her washing her hair in a bowl of cold water in her front yard. She was so happy to finally have clean hair. Toiletries really are so important in the boxes, and you can make it more fun by choosing lovely fragrances, wrapping items up with pretty ribbons or perhaps making or buying a small toiletry bag. Don’t forget any liquid items can only be a maximum of 300 ml.

This month, the focus is on candles. They can be any kind of candles you like, but they need to have some sort of holder for safety. So tealights and a holder for them. Or a longer burn candle that comes in its own glass or one on a stand. Scented ones are a lovely sensory option to brighten up the lives of those receiving them, who are living in challenging circumstances.

Proverbs 19:17 “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.”