A volunteer for 16 years on the annual campaign, which delivers 'shoeboxes of hope' to deprived children in Eastern Europe, the married mum-of-two said: "We went to a gypsy camp and there were children who'd had limbs broken so they could beg on the streets. It was minus 15 degrees, and there were children running around in bare feet.

"There was a standpipe which was frozen, so they had to go down to the dirty river to get water."

Though the poverty in Zenica, some 50km from the capital Sarajevo, shocked her to the core, the trip made her realise how valuable their efforts were in bringing a glimmer of joy to this part of the former Yugoslavia.

"The children were in their best clothes when we went to the schools, because the English were coming. To see them get the boxes was fantastic.

"They couldn't believe the gifts inside were for them. They thought it was just the boxes.

"It was great to go full circle to see how we prepare a box here in South Tyneside and how it's received there with such joy."

To get an idea of how and where this circle begins, we went to visit the OCC's South Tyneside headquarters on the Bladen Street Industrial Estate in Jarrow.

"We have a different home every year. We go where we can. The council let us have this site rent-free this year," Carol said.

The project, which comes to an end on Friday with a grand sending-off ceremony for the boxes, may seem like a strictly seasonal one, but it has, in fact, been going on for months.

Starting in July, members of the operation – overseen by the charity Samaritan's Purse International (SPI) – started ringing around the borough's 72 schools arranging assemblies for October and November.

Once a rota had been drawn up, people such as SPI rep Christine Jones visited as many of these as possible to appeal for donations of decorated shoeboxes, hopefully filled with gifts.

The mum-of-two, from Sunderland, who, like Carol, has been involved in the South Tyneside appeals since they began in 1992, chuckled when asked why she chose to spend her spare time in a warehouse: "I got involved because I'm a soft touch.

"We started with 200 shoeboxes a year, and now we're up to about 12,000.

"It's hard work, but it's worth it, as it makes a child feel loved at a special time of year."

Educated as to where the boxes came from, Carol then took Gazette photographer Stu Norton and I on a tour of the facility, which looks like a cross between Santa's grotto and a catalogue storeroom.

Come to think of it, it's not so much a tour as a look around one room absolutely rammed with decorated boxes.

Upon arrival, these are opened to check they don't contain toy guns, which are frowned upon, or bubble bath, which can leak out and coat everything it touches in an oily goo.

The boxes are then divided into three age ranges; two to four, five to nine and 10 to 14 for either boys or girls.

To complete the sets, essential items like a toothbrush and toothpaste and a hat, scarf and gloves are then added if needed.

Busy checking the boxes were some 40 volunteers made up of members from various churches in South Tyneside and other non-church groups.

One of those from the latter was Judith Caers, from Hebburn, 48, who was inspecting a box destined for a toddler. Its contents included a note pad, pencils and pens, sweets, toys, and, of course, the obligatory hat and gloves and teeth cleaning kit.

A volunteer for three years, she explained why she helped out every year.

"I really enjoy it. I feel I'm getting something out of it. It's well worthwhile.

"I would love to go to one of the distribution places where the boxes end up."

The hundreds of large cardboard boxes in the room, into which all the smaller shoeboxes have been stacked, will this year make their way to the town of Novi Sad in Serbia, once part of Yugoslavia.

"We are going to Serbia as we've been to Romania for four years. We wanted to try a different country," Carol said.

With her and Christine both being Salvationists, they were greatly pleased to have in their midst Captain Brian Wright, the commanding officer of the Jarrow Corps of the Salvation Army, and his wife Sylvia.

Though they live in Seaham, Co Durham, they had no qualms about commuting over to Jarrow to help out up to five times a week.

"We watch television and read the newspaper and only hear the bad news. We don't see the good news; how many good people there are in our society," said Capt Wright.

"There are some incredible people in South Tyneside. People who really care.

"To think they go out of their way to make a shoebox that's going to a country they'll never visit, to a child they will never meet, yet that box will be full of love and concern. It's amazing."

Carol then added her own personal tribute to folk from this part of the world. "There are also projects in Sunderland, County Durham, Newcastle and Teesside, which send boxes to kids all over Eastern Europe.

"They say North East England is disadvantaged, but the generosity of people up here is overwhelming."

It's not too late to contribute, as they will be in The Shed in the Viking precinct, Jarrow, on Wednesday, or contact them between 10am and 4pm on 0798 393 6331.