OVER 14,000 boxes have been donated to a shoebox appeal based in Wrexham already this year ahead of Christmas.

Back in 1990, Dave Cooke was moved by the needs of the Romanian children he saw on the TV screen so he put teams together under 'Operation Christmas Child' in Wrexham and took aid to Romanian orphanages.

Then, in 2006, Dave founded the Teams4U charity to enable many others to be able to have the opportunity and experience of working with and supporting vulnerable children and their families.

Down the years, it has helped people in Uganda, Cambodia Sierra Leone and more with this year's appeal set up to help children in Eastern Europe.

Now based out of Llay Industrial Estate in Wrexham, the team has been busy gathering donations from north Wales and beyond over recent weeks.

Project manager Simon Cooke, Dave's son, said that over 14,000 shoeboxes have been sent into the warehouse for donation so far.

He added: "Around 14,000 of them have been sorted already, but we've got another thousand or so that still need to be sorted."

Simon added: "Last year, we had 42,000 boxes donated for the appeal. It's hard to tell if we'll get the same amount this year, but the generosity shown so far has been unbelievable.

"The generosity I've seen from people in the Wrexham community has been outstanding. We have had even more schools involved this year too which is great to see.

"It's important that we show children how important it is to help others around the world."

A video of the scale of the operation at Teams4U can be viewed via their X account here ...

Simon, who joined the Teams4U team during the Covid-19 pandemic, said that packages will be sent out via trucks to Bosnia, Romania, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine in the coming weeks.

He added: "People give in different ways and donate different items. We've had items donated by knitting groups, like jumpers and hats.

"We've had dentists donating toothbrushes, we get sweets, toys, chocolates and so much more. Some even leave notes in the boxes for the children who receive them to read."

Simon will be heading out to Bosnia in December to donate some of the boxes in person.

He said: "What's really amazing is that some of the children receiving the boxes will be the children of some of the parents who received them when dad's initial appeal began in the 90's."

He added: "Wrexham, historically speaking, has always had a lot of stick but things like the takeover of the football club are bringing positivity back.

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"I see from day to day just how generous the people of Wrexham can be, it's amazing."

Last year, Teams4U launched a large humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine, sending over 100 tons of humanitarian aid to the country.

Shoeboxes donated to this year's appeal will be given to a vulnerable child, or family, through schools, nurseries, hospitals and orphanages.

To find out more about how you can get involved this Christmas, visit their website.