A project that brings Christmas surprises to thousands of children every year is desperately seeking space.
The Love Box, which was founded seven years ago, could be shelved if a new 1,500-square-foot space isn't found to host months of preparing 2,000 shoe boxes filled with gifts.
The Love Box is currently working out of an unfinished wing of Christian Fellowship Church in Ashburn, but will have to vacate by July 1 when construction begins.
In order to gather donations, fill all the shoe boxes with $50 worth of toys each, wrap each one and divide the total by the gender of the recipient, the Love Box needs eight months of work before Christmas.
Since 1998, finished boxes have gone out to children supported by LINK, the Hope Center in Washington, D.C., and the Fairfax Abuse Center for Children, as well as more distant locales.
This year could be the Love Box's biggest yet — the 2,000 requested boxes tops last year's record 1,800.
CO-FOUNDER Eileen Murray just needs a place to make it all happen.
"As long as we've got some light and some air going, we'll be OK," she said.
Murray learned two weeks ago that the space at Christian Fellowship Church would no longer be available. While she had known that eventually the Love Box would need a new home, it still came as unwelcome news.
Volunteers had already gathered 1,200 boxes and started wrapping.
"If we hadn't started collecting boxes, we'd be in better shape," Murray said.
Anyone who can suggest a 1,500-square-foot space to hold the Love Box preparations can contact Eileen Murray at 703-444-5468.
— Suzannah Evans