Support our brave troops

Margaret McCormick from Macosquin told the Times that her son Aaron is on his second tour with the Royal Irish Regiment and is facing the prospect of Christmas away from home.

"The troops are only allowed to receive 2kg boxes of items from their families which is not very much," said Margaret.

"In fact, Aaron told me that some of the soldiers don't receive anything while they are away on tour.

"So some of my friends and I decided to get together to appeal to the public to donate items that we can send to the boys and girls over in Afghanistan.

"It will be bad enough for them spending Christmas away from home and we just want to let them know that they are not forgotten about.

"Some of the local shoe shops have agreed to donate empty shoe boxes which are the ideal size for making the 2kg parcels.

"We are just asking people to think about our boys and girls while they are doing their weekly shopping and add just one item to the their basket," she said.

There is a strict list of what can be sent to the troops. Margaret is appealing for the following:

TOILETRIES:

Toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, roll-on deodorant, razors, talcum powder, cotton buds, wet/moist wipes, tissues, lip salve, travel wash.

CLOTHING

Socks, underwear, gloves, vests.

SNACKS

Crisps, rice, noodles, packet soups, fruit/cereal bars, dried fruit, shortbread, small tins of fruit, packet custard, chocolate bars, chocolate raisins, energy sweets.

PHARMACY

Paracetamol, plasters, insect repellent, indigestion tablets, diarrhoea medicine.

RECREATION

Books, magazines, puzzles, travel games, pens, notebooks, artists paints, sketch books, batteries, pencils.

MISCELLANEOUS

Boot laces, hot water bottle, hand warmers, blank greetings cards, Christmas cards, messages of support.

Margaret also said that the troops love to receive Christmas cards from people wishing them well and, if the donors want to include an address, they will write back to them.

"It takes six weeks for the parcels to be delivered to the troops so the deadline for receiving the donations is the end of October," said Margaret.

Anyone who would like to donate items for the Christmas boxes of who wants further information can contact Margaret on 07707611210.