John and Margaret Willemsen
GROVE: People in Wantage and Grove have been thanked for donating clothes, crafts and toys to the 14th annual Christmas shoebox appeal for the area.
Retired couple John and Margaret Willemsen, who live in Grove, collected 576 boxes for needy children at a Romanian kindergarten.
The total was up 70 per cent on last year, and included blankets, hats, scarves, gloves and even slippers knitted specially.
Our top stories
Mr and Mrs Willemsen have been helping to get aid to the poverty-stricken region since the fall of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s.
Mr Willemsen, a father of four and grandfather of 10, said: “A big thank-you to everyone who contributed to the Link to Hope Shoebox Appeal this year.’’
- Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here