OPERATION Christmas Child and Teams4U were the subjects of a talk held at Dene Magna School on Saturday.

Sandy Jones, who organised the event, said: “In 1990 Dave Cooke, a father of four from Wrexham, North Wales, was horrified when he saw abandoned children in Romanian orphanages on TV and he asked friends to help fill a truck with toys and drive it to Romania.

“An overwhelming response from local people raised £60,000 and Operation Christmas Child, with its shoe box deliveries, was born. In 2006 Dave founded Teams4U to enable ordinary people to have the opportunity and experience of helping vulnerable children and their families overseas.

 “Dave shared countless stories of the power of a shoebox on the lives of children and their communities, and how ordinary people can transform the lives of others.”