The volunteers took part in a working bee to create boxes of items to give to children in remote areas overseas who were affected by poverty as part of the Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child initiative.

Organiser Robyn Hicks said last year volunteers from Orange and surrounding areas sent more than 1500 shoe boxes of items to children in countries such as Cambodia, Papua New Guniea, the Philippines, Thailand and Fiji.

Each box is created for a boy or girl of a particular age group but they all must contain something to wear, someone to love such as a soft toy, something for school such as stationery, something to play with, something for personal hygiene such as a tooth brush and the Orange group also adds a large bag.

Mrs Hicks said some of the volunteers make clothes to put in the boxes, Glenroi Heights Public School makes toy trains and Jim Maybin makes wooden cars, buses, blackboards, tic tac toe sets and items for fishing.

An effort is also made not to send anything that would create rubbish and any packaging such as plastic film is removed before items are packed due to lack of garbage services in the villages.

Fellow volunteer Pam Green said the boxes go to particularly isolated villages where some gifts have to be delivered by helicopter or canoe.

"These children have never had anything new before," Ms Green said.

Mrs Hicks said the working bees are held on the third Saturday each month at the Christian Ministry Centre on Cecil Road. Saturday's activity was the third for the year.