/R E P E A T -- New "online shoe boxes" enabling Canadians to bless children
in Haiti/

Operation Christmas Child introduces new web-based feature to accommodate last-minute shoe box donations, with most boxes destined for children in Haiti

CALGARY, Dec. 7 /CNW/ - The 2010 Operation Christmas Child shoe box collection season is coming to a close, but thousands of Canadians are still making the most of a new "online shopping" feature enabling them to pack and send gift-filled shoe boxes to the developing world from the comfort of their own homes.

The new feature means although the deadline has passed for Canadians to drop off shoe boxes at churches, businesses and other local colleciton centers across Canada, they can still participate until Dec. 31 by going to www.samaritanspurse.ca/shoebox and donating gift-filled shoe boxes for $37 each via the Internet. Most of the online boxes will go to the hurting children of Haiti.

Canadians who choose Operation Christmas Child's online option begin by deciding whether they want their box to go to a boy or girl. Next, they choose from among three possible age ranges: 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14. Based on those choices, a standard group of items are added to the box. Then the donor can select from among several additional items, and futher personalize his or her gift by adding a photo and note.

"The opportunity to upload a photo and include a personal message to the child who will receive the box really adds special meaning for the giver and the recipient," said Randy Crosson, Operation Christmas Child's director. More than 3,000 gift-filled boxes have been donated via the Internet so far this season.

Last year, Canadians filled 640,569 Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes with gifts destined for children in the developing world. This year, Canadians coast to coast have joined together to hold fundraisers, packing parties, community drives, and special events with the goal of using the power of a simple gift to touch the hearts of children and to change lives.

Shoe box gifts are just one part of Samaritan's Purse's efforts to help hurting children and their families in Haiti. Since the earthquake last January, Samaritan's Purse has provided food, safe water, and medical care, while building 10,000 family shelters. Most of the international relief and development organization's current work in Haiti is focused on fighting the cholera epidemic. Learn more at www.samaritanspurse.ca.

Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has been a vital project of Samaritan's Purse - a Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world.

The shoe box is just the beginning, because Operation Christmas Child is opening doors and creating opportunities for Samaritan's Purse to provide other help to children, their families, and their communities through safe drinking water, literacy and job skills initiatives, feeding programs, medical care, and more.

For further information: To arrange an interview with a local, national, or international representative of Operation Christmas Child, to obtain information about a shoe box event or story idea in your area, or to locate the nearest shoe box drop-off location, please contact: Carla Bregani, Communications Advisor, Operation Christmas Child Canada, [email protected], or 1.800.303.1269