Churches across the UK participating in the Operation Christmas Child campaign will hold Shoebox Celebrations throughout November.

Participating churches have spent the last few months encouraging members to fill up a shoebox with gifts for underprivileged children around the world. The shoeboxes are collected by churches and sent out to needy children in time for Christmas by Samaritan's Purse, the charity behind the campaign. For many children, the packed shoeboxes are the only Christmas presents they receive.

Churchgoers and their family and friends will bring their shoeboxes along to their church for the Shoebox Celebrations, being held to mark the end of the campaign.

Operation Christmas Child has put resources together to help churches hold their Shoebox Celebrations, which include free and downloadable talks on Operation Christmas Child, a quick quiz, games, heart-warming stories and prayers. A DVD has also been compiled showing Operation Christmas Child in action.

Operation Christmas Child, running successfully since its launch in North Wales in 1990, sent over 1.3 million shoeboxes from the UK to needy children last year, with churches playing a major role. Over 1,000 churches took part in Shoebox Celebrations last year.

"A Shoebox Celebration is a great way for churches to build links with the community in which they are located," says Ian MacLeod, Head of Operations, Operation Christmas Child.

"OCC brings churches into contact with people who may not be regular churchgoers and it provides a common purpose for people from many different backgrounds.

"Operation Christmas Child encourages individuals to pack a box and to bring it to their local church, quite often for the first time."

On the web: www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk