Now that the Christmas shopping season is underway and gift-giving is on our minds, I thought it would be a great time to tell you about some gifts that help benefit children and families living in extreme poverty in the U.S. and around the world. The 2015 World Vision Gift Catalog invites you to not only Give a gift, but Change a life. Here’s how you can be a part of that:

• Choose from more than 250 gifts ranging from $16 to $39,000 to help improve the quality of life for struggling children and families.
• You can choose a gift to donate…gift a family with a goat, chickens, or other farm animals; fruit trees, farming tools, or seeds; or gift a child with an education.
•  You can choose a handcrafted gift for yourself or a friend or family member–like the Prosperity Cinnamon Box, a beautifully carved cinnamon bark box holding 3 oz. of cinnamon. Or you may decide on the Hand-Carved Wooden Serving Spoons, History’s First Coffee Blend, or a Fair-Trade Wire Artisanal Bowl. The money raised from each purchase of a hand-crafted gift goes to the Where Most Needed fund, helping the most urgent needs of a child, family, or community. Delivery for handcrafted gifts like these is 7-10 days.
• Gifts can be purchased/given in a loved one’s name.
• You can choose to have a personalized card sent along with your gift describing the gift and its life-changing impact.

Shown above is the Prosperity Cinnamon Box that World Vision sent me, so I’ve seen firsthand how beautifully hand carved it is. Filled with 3 ounces of Vietnam’s renowned sweet cinnamon collected from the Cassia tree, it would make a special gift for anyone who loves to use cinnamon in recipes! The Asian character for prosperity is carved into this unique cinnamon bark box.

The World Vision Gift Catalog’s first issue came out in 1996, and it continues to grow in popularity every year as a meaningful way to give and help others. In 2014 alone, more than 822,000 people were helped through the funds raised by the gifts featured in the catalog.

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