It’s nearly that time of year when popular Hong Kong charity, Box of Hope collects shoeboxes full of gifts all across Hong Kong and distributes them to the less fortunate. This year Box of Hope is celebrating ten years of helping disadvantaged children across Asia.
Collection Week for 2017 is 6-10 November. Schoolchildren all over Hong Kong find an old box (like a shoebox), decorate it and fill it with new, useful and educational gifts. The boxes are then collected and distributed by the charity’s logistics team to disadvantaged children in several Asian countries. Individuals can also fill boxes and bring them to a variety of collection points across the city.
This year, they have a new person in charge, Sian Trodd. Sian has been working with the charity since 2014 and is excited to take on the new leadership role. We’ve asked her to share a bit about herself, Box of Hope and how Hong Kongers can be involved.
How and why did you get involved with Box of Hope?
The team of volunteers is often recruiting as people leave HK, my children are older and I wanted to put my time and energy into something worthwhile.
How long has Box of Hope been running and how has it evolved over the years?
This is our tenth anniversary, Founders Nicole Woolhouse and Harriet Cleverly started the charity from their home in 2008 when they collected 800 boxes, last year we collected 27,253 boxes. Obviously this growth has led to us requiring a large logistic operation to collect the boxes from the 120+ schools and then deliver them to the 43 charities in HK, China, Macau, Cambodia and Philippines. Our sponsors and donors have made this possible.
What are your targets for this year? Anything special about 2017?
This is our Tenth Anniversary and we are aiming to achieve 29,000 boxes.
How can people best support Box of Hope?
We are always looking for sponsors to help us cover the rising costs as the box numbers grow.
What are your tips for creating the perfect box?
The perfect box includes: A bar of soap, a toothbrush & toothpaste, notepad and pencils, something fun like stickers and cards, a ball and a soft toy to love. It is very heartwarming to see the wonderful boxes from the HK school children.
Anything else you want people to know about Box of Hope or yourself?
None of this could happen without the time, energy and generosity of the Hong Kong community and the fantastic Box of Hope team !!
To volunteer or to sponsor Box of Hope please email Sian Trodd at siantrodd@boxofhope.org
Melanie Grosjean is a full-time mommy and part-time writer who left the U.S. for Asia several years ago and never looked back. Nowadays, she spends as much time traveling with her husband and toddler as possible. When she isn’t on the road or squeezed into economy class, you can find her sipping an iced latte or blogging at www.adventurefamilylife.com.
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