When Lorna Bailey moved to north Kent for a new job, she wanted to get involved in the community. “A Blythswood speaker came to our church and told us about the Shoe Box Appeal,” she remembers. “It was the opportunity that I was looking for. I had always done a lot of knitting and was often at the depot with my items, and helping out.”

Blythswood’s permanent depot in Strood closed ten years ago but Lorna continues to support the Shoe Box Appeal. “Our first sponsored knit raised over £750 and the last three about £1,400 each. The teams are mostly made up of people who volunteer for shoebox checking.

“We meet in the church hall. Each person casts on 30 stitches and at the word GO we knit for 45 minutes then have a break for refreshments then carry on for a further 45 minutes when the work is measured. The longest strip is usually about 25 inches. People then take their strip home and finish it into a scarf, which then goes into a shoebox.”

Lorna has also promoted the appeal by giving talks to schools and clubs in Kent. She has visited Serbia three times, and even helped to hand out boxes to children there, an experience she describes as very moving. Now she oversees the shoebox collection at her own church, Gillingham United Reformed, and volunteers at Blythswood’s sorting station in Kent when it operates for a few weeks. She says: “It’s satisfying to know that the boxes arrive safely at their destination and that they are so much appreciated.”