This was reported by the sponsoring association Geschenke der Hoffnung (Gifts of Hope) to journalists in Berlin on November 6. The pilot project is made possible thanks to the support of cooperation partner Quehenberger Logistics. The company has been organizing the transports for "Christmas in a Shoebox" for eleven years. One truck per destination country is equipped with a so-called "bee"(Roambee). This technology makes it possible to transmit the truck's location and other data at any time. Geschenke der Hoffnung is the first charitable organization to make the transport route of donations in kind traceable in this way.

The Managing Director of Geschenke der Hoffnung, Bernd Gülker, explains: "We want to show the donors that their shoebox arrives. This already happens through the photos, reports and videos and now also through this new technology. This allows donors to follow the shoeboxes' journey to their destination country in even greater detail."

Quehenberger's specialist for eastern transport projects, Holger Philipowski, emphasized the good and reliable cooperation with Geschenke der Hoffnung. "We really appreciate the work and are pleased that we can test out innovations together here to make logistical processes even more transparent." Philipowski himself has been organizing the collection of gift packages for "Christmas in a Shoebox" at his company for years. Last year, 450 parcels were collected in his region.

How the real-time tracking works
Donors can register in advance on the website www.weihnachten-im-schuhkarton.org to track the trucks carrying the gift packages to the recipient country almost in real time. To do this, they select the drop-off point to which they have brought their parcel donation. The drop-off points are linked to collection points, which in turn deliver to national interim storage facilities or Christmas workshops. From there, the packages are transported to the destination countries. After successful registration, the applicant will be sent access data for the online map as soon as the country assignment and route planning by Logistics has been completed. After logging in, the donor can see the expected recipient country of their shoebox and can see where the truck is at any given time.


About "Weihnachten im Schuhkarton"
"Weihnachten im Schuhkarton" is part of the international "Operation Christmas Child" campaign run by the Christian aid organization Samaritan's Purse. The sponsor in German-speaking countries is the Christian organization Geschenke der Hoffnung. Last year, the campaign reached around 11.5 million children in around 100 countries worldwide.