PARCELS OF LOVE THIS CHRISTMAS 

Op-ed

Dear All,

Please respond with a kind words to this charity, as well as to one forlandmines. We need your respond to IMDb too. Croatian language is our languageand there is NO alternative.

 My comment is this. we cannot only complain. We have to be gratefultoo, for every word or deed that sends a message of love to Croatia andCroatians around the world. Fighting for our right should never cease. Onedoesn't exclude the other.

Nenad Bach

Editor -in-chief, CROWN

PARCELS OF LOVE THIS CHRISTMAS 
MARY O'LEARY, HEATH REPORTER
12:00 - 20 November 2002 

A plymouth nurse is preparing to deliver Christmas gifts to hundreds of children in Bosnia and Croatia, after her latest charity appeal produced record results.
Jill Baird, who works as a theatre sister at Derriford Hospital, has managed to collect a staggering 1,370 boxes, each packed with toys and treats for youngsters in schools, hospitals and orphanages.
The boxes are sent to Eastbourne, base of the Mustard Seed Relief Missions; and on December 16, Mrs Baird is flying out with a team from the appeal organisers to distribute each one personally.
Mrs Baird collected the boxes after appealing to hospital colleagues and large businesses in Plymouth for help.
The 41-year-old mother of two, from Eggbuckland, wrote letters to everyone at Derriford Hospital and in local NHS organisations, as well as to her neighbours, friends and to eight large companies in the city.
She asked people to fill a box with toys, toiletries, pens, paper and gifts suitable for children within an age bracket of two to five, six to 11 or 12 to 15.
Hospital staff responded immediately, along with city residents. Generous staff at B &Q Warehouse filled 50 boxes after Mrs Baird gave a presentation at the store. 
The total number of boxes collected is more than ever before.
Mrs Baird said: "The response has been terrific. Three years ago we got about 65 boxes, then last year I went around the hospital and collected 1,015. This year I emailed everyone at the hospital and wrote to my neighbours and businesses in the city, and people have been brilliant, especially B &Q," she said. 
The campaign, known as Love in a Box, is organised by the Mustard Seed Relief Missions, based inEastbourne. The aim is to share seasonal support with children living in in Bosnia and Croatia.
Mrs Baird said the campaign was vital to the youngsters who benefited.
She said: "Every single box makes a difference, and that is our motto - living to make a difference.
"I am going out with the team in December and we will fly to Zagreb, then travel 900 miles to distribute all the boxes directly to children. There is no halfway house: we do it all ourselves.
"I have also had to raise money to pay for my flight and accommodation, and I have had fantastic support to do this."My family are behind me as well and the support and help from everyone has been immense," Mrs Baird said. "I'm really looking forward to taking the boxes out."

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