Gift milestone a shoe-in with help from Irish woman

Maureen & granddaughter filling 1,000 boxes for African kids

- BY CILLIAN SHERLOCK

Maureen & granddaughter filling 1,000 boxes for African kids

A GRANNY who created 1,000 Christmas shoebox gifts for children living in poverty is hoping her efforts can push a charity's total present haul over the three million mark.

Team Hope has so far delivered 2.8 million shoebox gifts packed by Irish families for children in Africa and eastern Europe - and aims to cross the milestone to mark its 15th anniversary.

In the run-up to Halloween, Wexford woman Maureen O'Hanlon is putting the final touches to this year's batch of 100 festive boxes.

In the last decade, she has put together 1,000 shoeboxes and has some extra help this year in the form of her six-year-old granddaughter Anna.