Media Advisory - Give a Gift of Magic this holiday season

Inspired gifts that keep giving

TORONTO, Nov. 29 /CNW/ - From office colleagues and holiday party hostesses, to school teachers and babysitters, the quest for the perfect holiday gift has officially begun.  But finding the right gift can sometimes be difficult. This year, UNICEF is encouraging Canadians to consider giving an inspired gift this holiday, UNICEF's Gifts of Magic.

UNICEF Gifts of Magic are real gifts. Once ordered, they are shipped directly from UNICEF to communities most in need, in over 150 countries around the world.

Canadians can purchase a variety of themed, meaningful gifts that can help the world's most vulnerable children.  Give the teacher in your life the opportunity to send a child to school through a Gift of Education. Or give the fitness guru a bicycle to be delivered to a child through a Gift of Play. These and other gifts such as the Gift of Health and the Gift of Water, include items that allow children in need to live the lives that they deserve.

Here are a few examples of the life-changing gifts Canadians' can consider this holiday season:

• A bed net to keep a sleeping child safe from malaria - $10
• Therapeutic milk to save a malnourished child's life - $25
• Bicycle that can help fetch water and do chores - $87
• Emergency Relief kit, which includes * one first aid kit * two water sanitation kits * 70 measles vaccines * 149 oral rehydration packs *360 high energy biscuits - $100
• A community water pump to provide life-giving water - $509
• Education supplies for an entire school - $5,200

A full listing of the Gifts of Magic collection is available at www.shopunicef.ca.

To learn more about UNICEF's Gifts of Magic and how Canadian's can make a meaningful difference this holiday season, media are encouraged to speak with a UNICEF representative.

Interview Opportunity

Who:	Deana Shaw, Director, Gifts of Magic, UNICEF Canada
What:	Learn more about philanthropy during the holidays, ethical gift giving and the UNICEF Gifts of Magic program
Where:	Telephone or in-studio
When:	Throughout the month of December

About UNICEF Gifts of Magic
UNICEF Gifts of Magic are ethical gifts that allow you to give twice. You can purchase an actual life-saving item that will be delivered to one of over 150 countries where UNICEF works, while giving deeper meaning to a special occasion to the people you honour with gifts in their names. Whether you choose to support a child orphaned by AIDS or provide water treatment tablets to families in need, through UNICEF's Gifts of Magic, you are helping build a world fit for children.

For further information: